I know it feels good to
flame freepers into a nice little crackling crisp. But you can't
just assume they're a freeper because they're disagreeing with you, are new, and
haven't figured out the comment system yet. They might just be a
newbie trying to contribute to the discussion.
Some ideas borrowed and paraphrased from the wikipedia guideline article Please do not bite the newcomers below.
- Understand that newcomers are both needed by and of value to the community. By empowering newcomers, we improve the diversity of knowledge, opinions and ideals on Daily Kos and enhance its value
- When giving advice to newcomers, tone down the rhetoric even a few notches from the usual mellow discourse that dominates Daily Kos cough cough. Make the newcomer feel genuinely welcome, not as though they must win your approval in order to be granted membership into an exclusive club. Any new domain of concentrated, special-purpose human activity has its own specialized strictures and structures, which take time to learn, and which may benefit from periodic re-examination and revision.
- Assume good faith on the part of the newcomer. They most likely want to help out. Give them a chance!
- Remember Hanlon's Razor. Behavior that appears malicious to experienced Kossacks is more likely due to ignorance of our expectations and rules. Even if you're 100% sure that someone is a worthless, no-good, low-down scum-sucking Internet troll, vandal, or worse, conduct yourself as if they're not. By being calm, interested, and respectful, your dignity is uplifted, and you further our project.
- Remember that you were once a newcomer also. Treat others as (if possible, better than) you would want to be treated if you had just arrived at Daily Kos.
But seriously... If they are a filthy freeper troll you should be able to hammer them on the facts until it's obvious they're a troll. And if they're not there's a good chance you've got a new contributer who's willing to give the ideas here a good going over.
Do you really want to scare everyone who doesn't agree with you 200% off?