Please join us in celebrating the 1st Anniversary of the New Diarists group, which unites diarists who want help with more experienced kossacks who are willing to provide it. In "'Buddy System' another example of Daily Kos community at its best", Meteor Blades aptly described our group's mission:
Building a place for newcomers and long-time lurkers alike to learn how to write better, as well as to get a handle on formatting, embedding images, updating diaries and all the other mechanical details of diarying...
No one has benefited more from this group's efforts than I have. In that same diary, Meteor Blades quoted from my explanation of the group's genesis:
After my diary posted, My Spin helped by alphabetizing the list so that I could copy and paste it, Clem Yeobright helped by creating a list with links, [Dr] Erich [Bloodaxe RN] helped by pointing out that the music video I had embedded was too large, and on and on. The most ridiculous moment was when I had to post a comment in my own diary asking Onomastic to explain how to edit my diary now that it was posted! LOL!! I clearly needed a lot of help, and the community was supportive.
After the group moved on to the next list diary, I had time to think, and I wished that I had made more of an effort to learn how to link to other diaries, comments, member profiles; how to embed a picture or a video in a diary or a comment; how to make boxes. … I wish I had had the courage to post a diary sooner and watch it roll down the recent list into oblivion.
At the same time, I was noticing apologetic comments in the list diaries, comments indicating that the authors felt less “deserving” of a gift sub than others because they had not yet written a diary or their first attempts had received little notice. I also noticed a general anxiety that their first diary would do things the “wrong” way and would get attacked as a result.
So I posted a comment to smileycreek explaining that I thought new diarists needed a safe space to practice their diary-writing skills. And here we are today. [links added]
So today I want to offer my sincere thanks to so many kossacks who have helped the New Diarists group:
- Thank you to smileycreek, Glen The Plumber, JanF, belinda ridgewood, JaxDem, and Nurse Kelley, who all initially stepped up to advise and help me to create the group. I am willing to take credit for asking for help, but your advice and encouragement enabled me to launch a group that would successfully help other kossacks.
- Thank you to belinda ridgewood, smileycreek, palantir, Dragon5616, JaxDem, dear occupant, Dave in Northridge, and Meteor Blades for writing diaries to help the New Diarists group. There is so much to learn about posting diaries here, and you have all generously donated your time and expertise to help us.
- Thank you to every New Diarists member who joined to help us. We are fortunate to have a greater number of experienced kossacks who have volunteered to help than diarists who have requested assistance, and we would welcome still more to join our group.
Of course, newbies and long-time lurkers had to take a chance on our new group for it to work. So thank you as well to all of our diarists who have permitted us to help with their diaries. We got off to a rocky start with delilah 52's diary, which was released from our queue prematurely, complete with strikeouts, but she was a good sport about it! And don't worry, we now have precautions in place to prevent further mishaps.
Here's what I hope is the complete list of diaries that New Diarists has assisted with. Note that if a diarist received help with more than one diary, just the first one is listed.
Finally, thank you to everyone who has read diaries and supported our group's efforts! We welcome new members, so please just let me know if you'd like an invitation.
New Diarists is a safe place to practice diary writing skills with a mentor's guiding hand. Experienced diarists are invited to join and buddy up with new diarists, and new diarists are welcome to join and to ask for help. The group's Publication Manager provides a space where we can collaborate on diaries and help with everything from revising to formatting your diary before you publish it to the site.
How-to diaries, such as smileycreek's New Diarists: How to Collaborate with Us on a Diary, are published to the New Diarists group. Remember that you must click on the ♥ next to New Diarists to follow us if you want our diaries to appear in your stream.
Ready to play? Send a private message to nomandates for an invitation to join the group.
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