Two months ago my camel's back broke.
I was part of another online developers community and after getting one too many undeserved insults from some of their lesser members I decided that enough is enough. And began looking for a new home.
Luckily, it wasn't before long that I found dev.to and immediately took to it. The staff were friendly, people were actually posting nice, constructive comments to other people's articles, and the general atmosphere was that of inclusion rather than one upmanship. Lovely.
Now I'd like to share some tips I've collected in an effort to help both newcomers get started, as well as help keep the spirit of this wonderful community alive.
Welcome
First things first.
Whether this is your first day here or you've been here for a while I'd like to newly welcome you.
I'd especially want to welcome you if you took the time and wrote a little blurb on the welcome thread that never got any love or comments.
So, Welcome!
Profile
I know, I know. We're all sick of filling up all these profiles everywhere we go. But this is different. This profile here is for other humans to read to get to know you, not for machines to figure out how to target ads at you. So go ahead and tell us a few words about yourself. You're much more interesting than you realize.
Comments
Join the conversation. If you read an article you like, go ahead and say something in the comments section. Even if you're not an "expert" on the matter. Your opinion absolutely matter.
First, it helps the author know that they are not talking into a void and second, it gives you the opportunity to ask questions and get answers. Many of the articles are quite technical and while the authors are doing their best in explaining the material, it is absolutely expected that questions will come up.
Make others feel at home
Make a habit of visiting the welcome thread every now and then and saying hello to newcomers. It means so much for a new person to get that first hello and feel welcome.
This is doubly true for people who follow you.
Share your experiences with us
How many times you thought to yourself: "maybe I should write an article about that" and then didn't? I'm going to guess that it happened more than a few times. The short answer: just do it already!
Even if it improves the life of just one person, isn't it worth it?
And by the way, it doesn't matter what you write about or if there's a million articles on the subject already. Your experience is unique. Your perspective is unique. Your background is unique. So just please share it with us.
Don't condone littering
When I published my first article here I was stupid enough to post a link to it in the previous community I was part of. Before long the nasty comments started appearing. But this time something else happened. Members from dev.to were sticking up for me. Next, dev.to staff stepped in and removed the garbage. I was amazed.
So know that you're part of a really cool community and take part in keeping it like that. If you notice someone bullying you or others, take a stand against it by referring them to the code of conduct.
Say thank you
Lastly, feel free to say a word of encouragement to the
team every now and then. They're doing a brilliant job building this platform and giving us a home.
Good luck.
Top comments (256)
You know, I almost never get to write a comment. But thanks to this it felt a bit different, a bit more welcomed to do so :) I am not really sure what you did but it works and if applied properly it could help people out be more communicative on other posts here as well ^^
I couldn't have said any of this better myself. I felt a bit embarrassed that this post, and a lot of other great momentum for the community, coincided with some random downtime yesterday and this morning, but smooth sailing ahead!
Thanks for being an awesome community leader since joining up. We look forward to working hard to grow the positive impact of the project going forward.
The pleasure is all mine. And thank you guys for doing what you're doing.
And by the way, these downtimes are a good sign. means we're growing! And with growth comes the perks of scalability :-)
"With great power, comes great responsability." (uncle Ben). Good job guys!
Thank you for the post Arik. Been lurking since I found this community a few weeks ago. Now I will write something in the welcome thread and fill out my profile. Not that because I have to, but because I want to.
Awesome!
Nice post and great read. My first ever comment after almost one year on dev.to
Yessssss!
Great to see you around Arik.
Most people suffer from the "Impostor's Syndrome".
But everyone has a different background/knowledge.
I am sure we can all learn from each other.
Now I have to leave a comment just to avoid feeling bad.
Kidding, awesome post!
This a thousands times! Online exchanges are so much better when it feels like you are talking to an actual person rather than just a nobody with an empty profile. And it doesn't take that much time to fill up a profile...
This is so nice, nice story and I am feeling very welcomed. So, thank you.
And, as a young mother, starting to learn how to code with a baby and all the things that come with the baby, I will definitely write an article about my journey. Thank you.
Congrats on becoming a mom and taking initiative to upgrade your knowledge. Iβm also a newbie to coding and mom life, it makes me feel good knowing that someone else is on a similar journey, we got this!
So awesome! Can't wait to read that post. I'll bet it's going to inspire many other women to follow your footsteps.
Tnx, I hope so. Will attach here that post.
Please do!
ΠΡ ΠΆΠ΄Π΅ΠΌ Π²Π°ΡΠ΅Π³ΠΎ ΠΏΠΎΡΡΠ°))
Great article! I also am not used to leaving comments (usually I fell like "I don't have anything smart to say"), but reading this changed my perspective and now I understand how valuable it is. If nothing else then for the author, to get rid of the that feeling of speaking into a void. Thank you!
Yes! And you'll surprise yourself pretty quickly -- I'm sure -- that you have a lot of insights you may take for granted but the rest of us don't have.
Thanks for the encouragement Arik - appreciate it! :)
I recently wrote a post and didn't get any likes or comments (0,0,0 π ), what did I do wrong? By the way, when I wrote this post (2020), it was a very personal, important and emotional moment and stage in my life.
When I wanted to start sharing something with others, ideas, but never got around to publishing because I wasn't sure. And now, I'm publishing again, and nothing... it's a drop in the ocean.
You did nothing wrong at all. I think there's so much content for people to consume these days that it's easy for even wonderful articles to be lost in the shuffle. Please continue sharing your insights. Sometimes it just takes a little bit of time.
Thanks Arik, I am not one for putting myself out there. this made me feel like I should, and I commend you for that. I'm am new to dev.to, and coding for that matter. I have got fairly fluent with HTML, and now I'm working my way through JS. I noticed that you are also self taught. Is there any pointers you can give me?
Hi Christopher. Really glad you're here. I bet you already know about coding a lot more than you realize. It's not all that different than building beautiful boats. The theory is great and gives some guidance, but there's no substitute to getting your hands dirty again and again and again. As an aside, I would love to see an article (or even a series) that shares your process from your unique perspective.
Again thank you sir, I haven't quite looked at it from that perspective. Although I would be lying if I didn't say, <"From were I sit"> this task looks daunting... No worries though, I have pulled myself from far more unbecoming situations. I must say though, coding is now beginning to feel less foreign, and more comfortable. I have always had a knack of finding my flow state. I can not wait to see what that looks like coding. Also, I am pretty sure I know what an article is. I am assuming a series is a group of articles?
Yep. Exactly.
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