Before my birthday in November, I promised myself I would write a diary a day for my birthday week. Unfortunately life intervened in the ugliest of ways, and not only did I not write any diaries, I barely visited for more than a month afterwards. I almost wrote a GBCW diary before disappearing but I thought it might look kinda silly since it would be only my third diary.
In any event, I'm back and having more fun here than ever. We all love to express ourselves and it's great to have a forum such as this with a lot of like-minded people around to share our ideas and ideals with. I'm researching some topics for future diaries, but for now, I'll get started on my belated (and somewhat scaled back) diary goal. Reading and posting on dKos has been a great learning experience for me. It's also been fun, but I've made what I consider some silly mistakes. This diary will help newbies (and some old timers) avoid some of my mistakes and some I've observed from others.
Jump over the fold for a few "yups" "ahas" and chuckles. And you can rec it if you wanna. But if you do, someone will definitely bitch about it...
How to avoid feeling the need to complain about the rec list
Do not depend on the rec list to find great diaries.
In the short time I've been here at DKos, I'm not sure I can count the number of comments I've seen saying, "Not another __________ diary," "Why did this make the rec list?,""This should not be a diary," or some other way of saying stop hogging the rec list.
Do use the search tool, hotlists and diary rescues to get to the other really good stuff or to things that more closely match your interests.
Do click on comments that you like or agree with and check that person out. Not in the singles bar sense, but to see if you should have a "watchlist" for any diaries they might write.
Do feel free to praise any diarist (or commenters) in addition to recommending the diary or post. As with all compliments, the more specific the better. It's easier to get a writer you like to write more than to get writers you don't like to write less.
If you must, go ahead and comment with your complaints about too many _______ diaries, but don't then complain about the comments you get back.
How to avoid looking like a newbie (from repeated personal experience)
Do not comment until you've read the full diary and some (if not most or all of the comments.) Besides being the smart and polite thing to do, it can save you the embarrassment of finding that someone else has already said the same thing, refuted your point, or clarified something that you didn't "get" or agree with.
Do pay attention to the time stamps before commenting in diaries. I once engaged in a pissing match with someone who had left his last comment 3 hours ago. Doh!
Do use the open thread when you're dying to say something but it doesn't really fit in the diary you're reading. Hijacking is just rude. Also use the open thread to comment on a diary that you read after the comment party was over. Man, I hate it when I'm late to the party. Which is often.
How to be a better Dkos citizen
Don't impugn anyone's character if you can avoid it. This goes for political figures and other Kossacks. Sure you may feel the need to call someone out, but neither their views nor a remark made in the heat of the moment, or even a scrutinized single vote really reflect that much on the sum total of who they are as a person.
Do feel free to jump in and defend anyone who is being attacked unfairly. Of course, that means you also need to give some real thought to whether something is an "attack" or just a strongly held differing opinion. (Which can be translated as... Do grow a thicker skin.)
Don't take it upon yourself to bring someone down a peg or two. It almost never works and even if it does, you may be left with severe remorse. Of all the things there are to learn and say around here, puncturing inflated egos is the least rewarding.
Do decide whether you want to be a pot stirrer or a sincere advocate when you make your comments. Both have their place, but mixed messages make things unnecessarily adversarial. If you are getting nasty replies to even your sincere comments, you've probably been identified as a pot stirrer. If you don't mind that, then fire away. If you do, think more about your tone. Cleverness and hostility are not the same thing.
How to get mojo and make the rec list
I don't know.
Really, I just don't know, but I have some ideas and they don't involve supporting the "right" candidate.
Do any or all of the following
Get a feel for the site and keep it in mind when writing a diary. In my first (otherwise decent) diary, I called out Rahm Emmanuel as a good guy in the title. The comments I got let me know he's not such a popular guy around here. And his name was not central to the diary in any way...it was just the name that I thought was most widely known in my list of good guys on this topic. Rookie mistake (and the first of many.)
Post your diary at a time when people are reading and commenting. There are a few active night owls, but 2AM diaries are often gone from the new diaries list by 10 AM. And after all your work, that will make you sad.
Make friends. Find folks whose comments you like and stalk them, I mean pop in on them occasionally. People can recognize kindred spirits and they will adopt you into their "circle." Even if it doesn't get you on the mojo wagon, it feels really good to get a reply to a comment or a diary from an FPer or other old timer that you admire.
Comment often. If the flavor of the month (or of the season, like candidate diaries) turns you off, then jump in the open thread or Cheers and Jeers or pootie or sports diaries.
Try playing the straight man. Setting someone else up for a great punch line can be just as satisfying as making it yourself. And it will help you make friends.
Don't be intimidated because you're new to blogging. Try your best, make a few mistakes (and you will), dust yourself off and jump back in there.
Remember to have fun. Blogs can be serious business, but make sure you can laugh at yourself and laugh with others and we'll all have a better time.