DEV Community

DEV Help

The latest help documentation, tips and tricks from the DEV Community.

Reacting, Commenting and Engaging

Connect with the community, and discover advanced strategies for boosting engagement.

Reactions

Reactions allow you to express how you feel about articles on DEV and show your appreciation for the authors. You will find the reaction buttons at the top left corner of an article. Here's what (we think) they mean:

  • ❤️ Love it. Default reaction showing appreciation for the article or author.
  • 🦄 Exceptional. Indicates that the article is exceptionally good or unique, deserving of admiration beyond standard appreciation.
  • 🤯 Wow! Expresses astonishment or amazement at the content of the article.
  • 🙌 Well Done. Indicates support or encouragement, or showing solidarity with the author's or their perspective.
  • 🔥Hot Take. Represents enthusiasm or agreement about the content, suggesting that it's trending or generating a lot of interest; acknowledges a strong point made in the article.

Comments

Subscribe to Comments: Keep up-to-date with new comments on posts by activating post subscriptions. Simply locate the subscribe button above the comment box on any post you want to keep track of and click to subscribe.

Hide Comments on Your Posts: If you want to hide a comment that was added to one of your posts, simply click the dropdown connected to the comment and select the "Hide" option. For more information, refer to our original changelog post on the feature.

Active Engagement

Participate in discussions, events, and initiatives to connect with the DEV community.

The DEV Community Newsletter & DEV Digest

The DEV Community Newsletter is a weekly email that presents our carefully selected Top 7 posts of the week, trending discussions on DEV, noteworthy updates, announcements for community campaigns and writing challenges, and platform enhancements, among other updates.

DEV Digest is a periodic compilation of top posts---a curated selection based on the tags you follow.

You can customize your email notification preferences in your account settings.

Writing Challenges & Content Campaigns (see also: Badges)

Writing Challenges

DEV offers a range of challenges tailored to enhance your writing prowess. By joining these challenges, you unlock the chance to earn coveted badges to adorn your profile, including:

  • Writing Debut: Celebrates your inaugural DEV post contribution.

  • Writing Streak Badges: Recognize your commitment to consistent posting, awarded for maintaining a weekly posting streak for 4, 8, and 16 consecutive weeks.

  • Top 7: One of our most esteemed badges, granted to authors featured in the weekly "must-reads" Top 7 Posts of the Week.

  • Additionally, there are numerous language badges, bestowed weekly upon the Top Author in each respective language category.

Community Campaigns & Hackathons

DEV also organizes several Community Campaigns & Hackathons annually, representing a diverse array of events, celebrations, and activations throughout the year. These include:

  • WeCoded: Formerly known as SheCoded, a celebration of gender equity in software development.

  • Coding in Costume: An October costume contest adding a fun twist to coding.

  • DEVImpact: An inclusive celebration highlighting top authors, emerging voices, prominent tags, moderator contributions, new features, and community expansion.

  • DEVResolutions: A platform for community members to share their goals, achievements, and provide mutual support and encouragement.

These campaigns -- and more! -- inspire members to write on specific themes or use designated tags, offering opportunities for featuring, promotion, and rewards.

Discussions #discuss

Create articles tagged with #discuss when you want to ask open-ended questions, technical questions, start polls, or create discussions.You could earn the "Top Discussion of the Week" badge.

Common Questions

Q: How does comment threading work?

A: Comments are threaded with a maximum depth, and then they become flat. You can respond to flattened-out threads by replying to the last comment in the overall thread.