Welcome to new and old users alike. Our group is here to help you orient yourself to the site and answer your questions about how to use it. When you join us below the orange gnocchi-doodle you'll find a funny story about spam. Below that you'll find links to a whole Welcome New Users trove of teaching diaries. After that you can ask us any questions about the site you want. If I don't know the answers someone smarter is bound to be along who does, or I'll go find 'em and bring 'em to ya. AND-- if you're new and wondering what is and isn't OK around here, read Kos' Community Guidelines. That'll keep you out of trouble!
Please also check out the buddy system over at the New Diarists group. While WNU and New Diarists do quite a bit of cross-pollinating, there is one essential difference between us: Over at New Diarists you can request a volunteer mentor who will help with revising and publishing one diary (usually your first) so that you won't get publicly consigned to Worst Diary Hell at the GOS (Great Orange Satan, as we are affectionately known among wingnuts). Just send them a kosmail asking for an invite! Also check out their Resource Diaries. Note: The New Diarists groups also welcomes experienced diarists who would like to be mentors.
and now, rock crushers ...
Who knows where it all started? Spam has been a part of this site for quite some time. Mostly it is a result of DK being a community blog that owes its success to YOUR content.
The sad side effect of this ease of access is the occasional spammer, different from a troll which will be covered in another diary. Spam diaries are considered fair game Open Threads for general wiseassery.
We like to have fun around here and every Kossack thinks that they are the funniest person on the internet. We compete for the title in spam diaries with pictures, memes and snark.
Once upon a time, spam diaries were met with Spam recipes and various pics. I know I had a few of them saved on my desktop for such purposes.
At some point, DK4?, the site relaxed its former rules regarding the time between registration and first diary posting as well as the One Diary per Day rule.
This resulted in an uptick in spam diaries, the most famous being a company that thought DK was full of industrial magnates who had a LOT of rocks to crush. This brought us a slew of sales pitches for rock crushers and a lot of fun ridiculing them.
The result was a fair amount of rock crusher memes and silliness to be found in the incessant diaries.
Pity poor Gwennedd: Are Rock Crushers to Become Obsolete in DK5?
Old school Personal Rock Crusher
“I now have a fabulous collection of all sorts of Rock Crushers and am able to post an image of a new one in every spam diary without repeating my pics.
But if DK5 doesn't need my Rock crushers, what am I to do with all my babies?? Throw them out on the street?? Do you have any idea of what happens to homeless Rock Crushers out there in the wide world?
They get caught and taken away to an unfamiliar place and if they're lucky, get re-homes with a nice construction company. But if not....then it's the scrap heap for them. My heart would break at the thought of having to give up my darlings.”
Kossack Crashing Vor, one of my favorites around here BTW, even gave us a video. As Promised, The Spam Diary Rock Crusher Video
Who knows what the next Rock Crusher will be. Don’t let it be yours and you will have a long and enjoyable stay here at the Daily Kos.
And now: I open the floor for Questions, Concerns and Comments.
Got questions? Comments? Ideas? We're all ears-- just join us in the comments. And remember: Since this diary is for *New Users* no question is too basic, no matter how long you've been here!
For More Helpful Diaries, Check Out Our Archives:
Everyone is encouraged to review some of the previously written goodness that survives here in the DKos archives, going back to WNU founder ek hornbeck and including the list of teaching diaries republished to our Group page.
