I am, with just a few weeks tenure, a newcomer to dKos. Like many, I
like it -- a lot. I had been stumbling around on-line, looking for something, not sure what, until I alighted on dKos and felt kinship. I hadn't felt part of a group in some time -- the orange embrace, even though both passive and etiolated by a long journey and the constraints of conversational typing, was welcome, pleasing, and revivifying. I became a regular lurker, an avid miner, and an occasional contributor. I have made a couple of connections here which I hope will grow in import and effect.
Yet, as a newcomer, I find that I am still a clumsy user of dKos.
More on the next branch.
I read the FAQ, and the informative post on how or what dKos is, but it left me only partly equipped to make the most of this unique fountain. I don't think I'm alone here -- it seems
thousands of people sign in to dKos every month. Many of them, like me, are probably a bit confused about how dKos works and what dKos is. I have taken the time to find out some of that myself, but I'm guessing that a not insignificant number of people who wander in to dKos leave without ever becoming good at dKosing. For them, and for me, I am going to offer what I have learned, and ask all of you to correct my errors and add what tips you know about
using dKos.
What IS dKos?
dKos is a personal blog. It was started and is owned and controlled by someone named Markos (information about Markos and dKos can be found at the dKos FAQ). It has grown considerably, and Markos has generously allowed it to become an electronic common ground for politically like-minded people. Politically, it is Progressive. What Progressive means can be easily ascertained by sampling several of the many articles, diaries, and threads.
dKos comprises a dynamic list of articles and diaries. Articles are written by Markos and by Guest Bloggers. Guest Bloggers are appointed by Markos. They alone have the priveledge of writing articles. Articles differ from diaries in that they are automatically front-paged. Diaries can be written by anyone. Diaries are recommended by readers. Top recommended diaries make it the coveted launching pad on the front page, the "Recommended Diaries" list. As on any blog, readers can submit comments to articles and diaries. A thread comprises all the comments attached to a diary or article. Many threads run to hundreds of comments. This fall there seem to be approx. 8 diaries posted per hour.
How to use dKos: a fledgling learns to, well, glide to a nearby perch.
This is what I do. I'm writing this diary in the hopes of finding out what you do, and learning how to better use dKos.
I have set my browser's home page to My Hotlist (see link under "Tools"). This lets me see immediately if anyone has replied to my comments. I keep the "New Replies" section expanded. This is controlled using the "disclosure triangle". Clicking it expands or collapses the section. If there are replies, I click-through and read them. I sometimes reply.
Next I go to My Page. This too is accessed through a link on the right of every dKos page. My page opens to my diaries. I don't find that useful -- I immediately click on the "Comments" tab which opens a page of my comments. This lets me check two things. First, that I haven't missed a reply to one of my comments (my experience is that the "New Replies" section on my "Hotlist" page is not all that reliable). I will follow-up on comments here that did not show up on my "Hotlist" page. Second, this page lets me see how others have rated my comments. I enjoy being noticed and rewarded for my comments. The number of readers a diary gets (its popularity) obviously effects how many ratings one's comments might get, but in general if one of my comments gets two "4" ratings I consider it "received". If it gets three to seven "4" ratings, I consider it received and shared. If it gets more than seven "4" ratings, I consider it received, shared, and amplified. These terms are strictly personal and are used loosely, but they do reflect what I think is one of the uses of dKos, which is to simultaneously refine and amplify political will.
Clicking the large orange bar at the top of any dKos page takes me to the dKos home page. I click it and peruse the front-paged articles and diaries, as well as the list of recommended diaries shown on the right side of the page. I read the articles and diaries I am interested in, and comment where I think my comments are worth reading. This takes at least an hour. If I don't have time to read a diary but want to return to it, I click the "plus" sign next the the diary's title on that diary's page. This puts the diary in my hotlist, which allows me to return to it from my Hotlist page. Since dKos is so busy, so dynamic, and so time-sensitive, I try not to do this. My experience is that by the time I get back to a diary, it is old news.
Below the list of recommended diaries is the list of current diaries, ordered from most recent to slightly aged. On my user preferences page, I have changed this to list 50 diaries. I usually take a look at several.
When I read a diary I know pretty quickly whether I wish to read it all. If I read it all I almost always read at least the first five top-level comments. Often, if a diary has more than thirty comments, I will read no more than the first five or so top-level threads, and then I skim the comments for links (some of which I follow) and for highly-rated comments.
Recommendations and Comment-rating confused me at first, but like others I quickly discovered how they are used in practice. If I think a diary is worth reading -- for any reason -- I click the "recommend" button. Oddly (perhaps), you can recommend as many diaries as you want. The more "recommends" a diary gets, the more likely it is to make the coveted "Recommended Diaries" list on the front page (and then the more likely it is to be recommended).
Comment-rating, in practice, consists of giving a "4" to a post that I think others should read. I have never downgraded a post (but, even though I am a trusted user, I have hidden comments hidden). Through some computer glitch that may be isolated to my computer, I must rate all comments on a page and then press one of the "rate all" buttons. I don't know how to rate a comment without refreshing the page. Having "new" posts flagged with the helpful red "new" flag is useful to me. Because these flags are reset when I press the "rate all" button, I often don't rate comments (or leave the page and forget to have my ratings sent to the dKos elves). I do read highly-rated comments. When I'm skimming a thread, I tend to stop at any comment rated by more than two readers.
That's it. Let me summarize how I use dKos:
- Home page set the My Hotlist
- Hotlist set to show all replies to my comments.
- Follow through to replies and comment more (or not).
- Click to "My Page", then click to "Comments" tab.
- Check for replies to my comments, and for multiple-rated comments.
- Follow through to replies and comment more (or not).
- Use the dKos banner to get to the front page.
- Read front page articles and diaries. Comment occasionally.
- Check list of recommended diaries. Read some. Comment occasionally.
- Check list of new diaries. Read some. Comment occasionally.
- Let time pass. Return to dKos and repeat.
Not especially efficient.
How do YOU dKos?