Welcome to new and old users alike from this month's host side pocket. 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 side pocket's latest Daily Kos insights. 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 (wink! wink!). Smileycreek assures me that she will be lurking in the background as a welcome backup.
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!
Wanna follow us around or send us a kosmail?
Click the ♥ to follow us in your Stream, or click Send Message to send us a private kosmail.
My previous
Welcome New Users diary was written 6 months ago. We have been anxiously awaiting the promised new version of Daily Kos and we are still waiting. Old-timers such as myself are skeptical because once you've learned the site's functions who needs change? But Markos assures us that it will be easier to use, following the Facebook model. Well we'll see.
As is mentioned below, the Welcome New Users feature has been around for quite a while, since February 2007 as a matter of fact. Thus more and more information has accumulated, and can be accessed via the archives. For those who have made it this far most of the basics are familiar but it's easy to forget some features of the site, especially if one is not a frequent visitor.
The front pagers are generally paid employees of Daily Kos and are very good at their job. Sometimes you will see one of their diaries on the "Recent" list and they will later appear on the front page. On the right side top lists "Community Spotlight". A wonderful but generally anonymous group reads every diary and posts those of special merit that may not have sufficient recommends to make the Recommended List (also called the rec list). That list contains diaries which have garnered enough recommends by the community to merit reading, Next is Most Shared, on Facebook. Since I personally am not on FB this listing is vague for me, but I do know Markos considers it highly important. Finally is the Recent list, where as a New User your diary will appear. As more diaries flow into the list, your diary will sink and finally disappear off the bottom, unless it's rescued or makes the rec list.
Just because a diary is on the front page it doesn't mean that it will receive 100% acceptance and approval from everyone. Kossacks (a nickname we have generally embraced [also Kogs]) can be cantankerous and certainly don't always agree about everything, not even the foundation statement of "electing more and better Democrats". It doesn't take long to become aware of this and read diaries and comments more selectively.
As you get more comfortable with writing diaries and making comments, some advice: read most or all of a comment thread before jumping in with a possibly divisive reply. Your concern will probably have been addressed already. And since as a trusted user you will be able to "Hide rate" comments, which is kind of fun at first, be cautious and let others do it first before piling on.
As Daily Kos has evolved (yes we believe in that) over the years it has become the go-to place for political news and opinion, especially since anything vital on the thousands of blogs and news aggregators out there will be picked up here, summarized, linked to, and opinionated upon. However I do acknowledge the existence of other sources, so I offer this. If you have a favorite writer, front page or otherwise, click on their name and you will find that writer's blogroll listed on the right. This is a valuable resource to discover blogs you might not know of. By the way, to follow a writer just click on the little heart under the avatar on their profile page and their work will appear on your "stream".
You may feel lost at first in a blog the size of Dailv Kos, which gets thousands and thousands of "hits" a day. Kossack BruinKid publishes a comment several times a week with the number of total registered Kossacks (latest number is 1,303,395) but many of these are spammers. Clever programming by the tech staff has created an algorithm to eliminate most of these. The best resource for actual numbers is provided daily by scribe, statistician, and all around good guy jotter which not only lists usage statistics but provided a comprehensive list of the most recommended diaries so you don't miss anything. These diaries are called High Impact Posts and usually appear in the morning.
There are hundreds of groups on Daily Kos about every subject under the sun, such as quilting, art, giving up smoking, music, or even pool. These are over and above the main political thrust of the blog and can be found listed here. More are being formed and if one doesn't pique your particular interest you could start one.
Daily Kos can be addictive. I've noticed that people who have not logged in for long periods eventually do return. And because of the addictive nature, if the site goes down for maintenance or even storms near the servers (it happened) it can cause severe angst. To discover the nature of the problem go to Daily Kos Status. If that doesn't work you might as well go to bed and wait for morning.
I must reiterate my feelings of what a wonderful place this is. Much of my time is spent here and an astonishing number of my friends I met through meet-ups and Netroots Nation. An amazing number of diarists and commenters have PhDs and whether or not they do, it's a collection of some very smart people with a wide range of life experiences. I especially recommend getting to know other Kossacks through local meet-ups or direct meetings if you see a comment from someone in your locality. I guarantee it will be rewarding. To facilitate this, a special mention: Connect! Unite! Act! This is a daily feature which publishes at 7:30 Pacific; informative and fun. This will keep you up-to-date on local meet-ups and gatherings and I highly recommend it. If you go there, one bit of trivia: you may see the word "sneck". This is awarded for the 100th or 200th comment and is considered a wonderful award (coveted by me, also). Attend that diary and you'll understand.
and a Tip of the Hat to Some Recent New Users:
New diarist and Iowa caucus watcher Robert Leonard says purple swing state Iowa is turning bright red because the state is crawling with Republicans who are organizing and changing minds while Democrats are sitting on their hands waiting to see what Hillary will do.
Writing successful snark is hard, but new diarist OrParalegal had a great deal of fun rewriting American history for teabaggers.
In Going Green Ain't Just About Gas our new diarist justinbohrer caught the attention of our dedicated Rescue Rangers and was elevated to Community Spotlight.
A special welcome to our newest and youngest user, 9 year old BeckettBlogs, who just posted How to Tell Your Kids About Marriage Equality by a Kid.
What new users have you met or helped in the past month?
Share them with us in the comments!
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.
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, including the list of teaching diaries republished to our Group page.