How to make the most of dev.to
Arik
γ»3 min read
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 our 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 he/she is 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.
Arik
Got into computers back in the 80s and became so in love with programming that I remember wondering as a kid (and still today, really) how come not everybody wants to be a programmer.
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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 :-)
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!
Hi Arik π. Glad you're loving dev.to as well. I've really been enjoying posting content on the site (so much easier than Medium) and also I've been enjoying reading a lot of the content. π₯ If you haven't already, you should check out the chat as well, dev.to/connect
Check it out. Yea, it looks dope.
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...
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.
Thank you for this article! I've been here for quite some time and indeed never got a comment on my welcome post haha. But this made me happy ! Love the positivity :)
Great to have you!
I never usually comment but this post made me do it. Thanks for sharing!
I had never added comment to any article before now or really been part of online community but your post has given me a different perspective. Thanks Arik.
So cool! That makes me happy!
Glad you are here Arik. I'm really enjoying this community as well. I hope as it grows we can keep toxicity to a minimum.
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.
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.
Hey Arik, I really liked your blog post about juniors on your website!
Thanks very much!
Thanks Arik, appreciate the time you took to post this. New to this community and after many years of doing other things (not computer related) trying to get into the big scary world of programming as its what I have always loved. Will be keeping an eye on your posts going forward.
Thanks Arik
Awesome! Can't wait to see what you're going to create.
I stumbled upon this post thanks to the DEV.to welcome email, and I'm glad I did!
I am usually wary of posting or getting involved in communities, but I really want to start contributing. This article really gave me that boost of confidence that I was looking for!
Thank you for sharing this!
Love it!
Great post Arik, thanks for writing it!
Thanks for this I'm a newbie here and I love your piece.
Thank you for the kind words. And great having you here!
It's my pleasure π
"And by the way, it doesn't matter 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."
oh, arik... thank you so much for this little gem. THIS is why i'm gonna start writing and sharing even though i just started programming and english is not my first language. i just need to put myself out there and it's incredible to know that dev.to is a platform for that, so welcoming to newbs like me.
Awesome! Can't wait to read your articles.
Great article, thanks for writing it.
I believe that after a long search I've found a place to get back to blogging. Really appreciate you sharing this article as it expresses what I believe a community should be and it encourages me to start blogging again, we should be always constructive and positive, supporting each other, some of the same principles that are present in great development teams.
Great article! I just joined a couple of days ago and you've reminded me to finish filling out my profile and reply to the welcome thread. I already get a great feeling from this community. I look forward to supporting and contributing here more <3
Really, it's a post that touches the reality, reveals expressions, and shares ideas to face it. It's a reminder for me to improve things mentioned which I'll be doing, a few now and some later. Also, I don't want to leave without admiring such a thoughtful community that believes in appraising instead of diminishing its newbies. Thank you for summing up your experiences and advice to establish and build a better identity.
Awesome & congrats to the Dev team!
There def is something different about the community over here at Dev. Right from the website look and feel, the colours, fonts, the playful-yet helpful vibe, to the members and the content created..
Sure there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes by the dev team to keep it this way.
Appreciate it.
Awesome post, and a very warm welcome to you too!
Thanks for this post Arik! Similar to Alex's comment, after reading your post I started feeling more comfortable leaving comments and this is one of my first ones. Also validates that this is the right community for me :)
I couldn't be happier
We need to keep this community as friendly as possible.
I am sorry you've been through such a bad experience with the other community, but you are home now :D
By the way, I too sometimes wonder "how come not everybody wants to be a programmer."
"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."
Yep, that's me! Soooo newbie with no hearts and no unicorns :(( hahaha! But I still feel welcomed at this great community <3. Great post, thank you!!
Thanks for the post!
Hey Arik, this was a nice welcome article. It was unique. Thank you.
A lot of what you wrote is why I adopted Dev and not some other place!
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
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