I've actually applied to a few of your radar posts. Thank you very much for them!
A few things I've learnt from my side (I've been here for about 2 months now).
1, the numbers are wrong... If you create an account and post immediately, you'll get next to 0 views. Due to how Forem's internal DB operates. You get a trust score, based on activity, so the first week or 2 on the platform, you have a negative stat to your recommendation to people.
2, the numbers stay wrong... Once you catch traction, you'll see a sudden influx, 100 new followers, 300 new followers, in a single day. Those are bots, it translates to maybe 10 or 30 real people.
3, comments are king. Dont worry too much about posting, live in the comments a bit, it's honestly the most fun part of the platform.
4, dont rush.. You feel like you caught momentum, need to keep it going.. Stop, rest, relax, rather post when you got time and really want to post, rather than staying up to 3am just so you can do your daily post.
5, the community is 99% solid. There's a few people who are rude, regrading, overall just bad people on here... But the majority are bomb and you'll have fun chatting and having thoughtful conversations that might send you down a rabbit hole.
Hey, I'm Hema 👋
Developer, writer, and creator of Dev Opportunity Radar, a weekly series published every Friday on DEV, helping people discover opportunities they might otherwise miss.
Even now, I still click that little red notification badge almost immediately whenever I see it. I don't think that excitement ever really goes away, and honestly, I hope it doesn't 😄
Hey, I'm Hema 👋
Developer, writer, and creator of Dev Opportunity Radar, a weekly series published every Friday on DEV, helping people discover opportunities they might otherwise miss.
AI testing storyteller. Writing the 36 Stratagems series — ancient Chinese military tactics meet modern AI system meltdowns. 15yr QA → building AI test framework.
@unitbuilds I've made my decision — KFC for breakfast, KFC for lunch, KFC for dinner. Next time I'll post a picture of a KFC delivery that arrived in 15 minutes right in your comments. Be ready 🍗🤣
AI testing storyteller. Writing the 36 Stratagems series — ancient Chinese military tactics meet modern AI system meltdowns. 15yr QA → building AI test framework.
AI testing storyteller. Writing the 36 Stratagems series — ancient Chinese military tactics meet modern AI system meltdowns. 15yr QA → building AI test framework.
Then I should post even more food photos from my side. No worries though — now that I've said it, the seed is planted. Your brain will subconsciously start searching for Chinese food pics on its own. I don't even need to send them. Brainwashing: success. 🧠✨🤣
Haha, WHERE'S MY SPRING ROLLS! Seriously, low blow, now I'm craving spring rolls and sweet and sour pork (best combo, cuz the dipping sauce), with some red-bean paste and a nice warm steamed custard bun. (2 can play that game 😆)
AI testing storyteller. Writing the 36 Stratagems series — ancient Chinese military tactics meet modern AI system meltdowns. 15yr QA → building AI test framework.
AI testing storyteller. Writing the 36 Stratagems series — ancient Chinese military tactics meet modern AI system meltdowns. 15yr QA → building AI test framework.
AI testing storyteller. Writing the 36 Stratagems series — ancient Chinese military tactics meet modern AI system meltdowns. 15yr QA → building AI test framework.
Hey, I'm Hema 👋
Developer, writer, and creator of Dev Opportunity Radar, a weekly series published every Friday on DEV, helping people discover opportunities they might otherwise miss.
First of all, I'm really glad to hear you've applied to a few opportunities through Dev Opportunity Radar! That makes all the time that goes into putting it together feel worthwhile.
And thank you for sharing these lessons! I actually didn't know about the trust score and how it can affect visibility for new accounts, so that was really interesting to learn.
I completely agree with your points about comments and not rushing. Some of my favorite moments on DEV have come from conversations in the comments rather than publishing an article, and taking a short break this past week reminded me that it's much better to write because you're excited about an idea than to force yourself to keep a streak going.
I've had a really positive experience with the community too. Everyone I've interacted with has been incredibly kind and welcoming, and it's one of the biggest reasons I've enjoyed being here.
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I hope it helps someone else who's just getting started as well 💙
Same here, community has been awesome. But earlier today I saw 2 people bullying a poster because he used AI for his project and for writing up his post. That really ticked me off, because I know it takes 1 bad actor to discourage them from ever writing a post again. So I told them off, said they should bugger off to X or Reddit, they'd be welcomed there, here we prefer constructive commentary and friendliness. Not toxic anti-ai... I hope people atleast look past those outliers, the majority of people here have been absolutely incredible and I've had pretty much an all good experience.
Hey, I'm Hema 👋
Developer, writer, and creator of Dev Opportunity Radar, a weekly series published every Friday on DEV, helping people discover opportunities they might otherwise miss.
I know what you mean. It only takes one bad interaction to make someone question whether they should post again, especially when they're new.
I'm glad you spoke up for them. Constructive feedback is one thing, but everyone deserves to be treated with respect.
Honestly, I didn't even realize this was happening. My own experience has been nothing but positive. I've received constructive criticism too, but it's always been kind, respectful, and genuinely helpful. I really hope new writers get to experience that side of the community, because it's been one of my favorite things about being on DEV 💙
Same, I've had constructive criticism, on my first post no less... I was called out on my documentation, said my benchmarks need to be far more granular and that's stuck with me, now my benchmarks are 2 pages long and track every stage of processing, which actually helped me develop better, by isolating the bottlenecks based on where the benchmarks are slow. But when I saw them be mean like that, I just couldnt stand it, I reported them and I told them off, cuz we all deserve a safe-space and I like to think Dev.to is that safe-space, where you can share what you've done and get positive feedback for it. Cuz developers are generally shy, or lack peers to share their thoughts with, so if someone makes a post, they're already stretched out on a limb, it takes 1 comment to make them disappear forever and write Dev.to off as another Reddit/X, where it's just a cesspool of insults and belittling. While everyone I've met has tried to keep it a productive, constructive place.
Hey, I'm Hema 👋
Developer, writer, and creator of Dev Opportunity Radar, a weekly series published every Friday on DEV, helping people discover opportunities they might otherwise miss.
I completely agree with that. I think a lot of us already have so many doubts before we even hit Publish for the first time. It takes a fair bit of courage to put something you've worked on out there, especially when you're new. I can definitely see how one unnecessarily harsh comment could make someone decide not to post again.
That's why I'm really glad people like you speak up when they see it. I hope DEV continues to be the kind of place where new writers feel comfortable sharing their work and learning along the way.
Mostly just the anti-AI people... If you use AI to fix your MD for your post, they hate. If you used AI to create your project, they hate. It's like they dont use AI every single day with all the work they do.. Or atleast they wont admit it. Instead of being kind and saying 'hey, I know it's tough to write in .md for a post, but you can use the dev assistant when you write it so you can learn a new skill!', they say stuff like "Seriously, I hate how theres so many AI projects these days, AI is fine for help but you shouldn't be using it to write entire repos." or "Hey at least I wrote my comment myself, unlike anything in your article <3". I have alot of respect for @madsendev for atleast standing up against them and saying "Great constructive comment. Well done. 👍🏻" Keeping it satirical, instead of digging in to them the way I did. Which imo is the best way a poster can handle it. Let the community have your back and fight your fights, you did enough posting your work, let those who support your work fight for you.
Really appreciate this. And I think you're right, there's not much value in fighting every hostile comment. I'd much rather have the actual discussion around where AI fits into development and how we distinguish AI-assisted work from low-effort generated slop. ❤️
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I've actually applied to a few of your radar posts. Thank you very much for them!
A few things I've learnt from my side (I've been here for about 2 months now).
1, the numbers are wrong... If you create an account and post immediately, you'll get next to 0 views. Due to how Forem's internal DB operates. You get a trust score, based on activity, so the first week or 2 on the platform, you have a negative stat to your recommendation to people.
2, the numbers stay wrong... Once you catch traction, you'll see a sudden influx, 100 new followers, 300 new followers, in a single day. Those are bots, it translates to maybe 10 or 30 real people.
3, comments are king. Dont worry too much about posting, live in the comments a bit, it's honestly the most fun part of the platform.
4, dont rush.. You feel like you caught momentum, need to keep it going.. Stop, rest, relax, rather post when you got time and really want to post, rather than staying up to 3am just so you can do your daily post.
5, the community is 99% solid. There's a few people who are rude, regrading, overall just bad people on here... But the majority are bomb and you'll have fun chatting and having thoughtful conversations that might send you down a rabbit hole.
Oh, forgot... 6, That red tag by your notifications will get you every single time...
That one is so true 😂
Even now, I still click that little red notification badge almost immediately whenever I see it. I don't think that excitement ever really goes away, and honestly, I hope it doesn't 😄
Right? @xulingfeng always falls for it 🤣
I feel a little better knowing I'm not the only one 😄
Oh and @xulingfeng hates it so much when I catch him 😂
@unitbuilds I've made my decision — KFC for breakfast, KFC for lunch, KFC for dinner. Next time I'll post a picture of a KFC delivery that arrived in 15 minutes right in your comments. Be ready 🍗🤣
And there I was giving you a shoutout 😭 It's free advertisement
My bad. Honestly, I'm kinda sick of KFC anyway. Let's switch it up — McDonald's it is 🤣
That's fine, cant miss what my country doesnt even have 🤣 (Namibia doesnt have a McDonalds at all)
Then I should post even more food photos from my side. No worries though — now that I've said it, the seed is planted. Your brain will subconsciously start searching for Chinese food pics on its own. I don't even need to send them. Brainwashing: success. 🧠✨🤣
Haha, WHERE'S MY SPRING ROLLS! Seriously, low blow, now I'm craving spring rolls and sweet and sour pork (best combo, cuz the dipping sauce), with some red-bean paste and a nice warm steamed custard bun. (2 can play that game 😆)
Honestly, I'm sick of all that stuff you just listed. Had it way too many times. 🤣
Yeah, but I bet you're not sick of sticky bbq ribs, or steak with mushroom sauce? 😂 or Latiao?
Well said. I'm heading downstairs at 11 PM tonight to order a big barbecue feast, take some pics and send them your way. 😏
That's fine, Saturday is the move, then I'll cook up a nice juicy steak on the fire and do the same 😁
Hang on, let me dig through my phone gallery 🤣
First of all, I'm really glad to hear you've applied to a few opportunities through Dev Opportunity Radar! That makes all the time that goes into putting it together feel worthwhile.
And thank you for sharing these lessons! I actually didn't know about the trust score and how it can affect visibility for new accounts, so that was really interesting to learn.
I completely agree with your points about comments and not rushing. Some of my favorite moments on DEV have come from conversations in the comments rather than publishing an article, and taking a short break this past week reminded me that it's much better to write because you're excited about an idea than to force yourself to keep a streak going.
I've had a really positive experience with the community too. Everyone I've interacted with has been incredibly kind and welcoming, and it's one of the biggest reasons I've enjoyed being here.
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I hope it helps someone else who's just getting started as well 💙
Same here, community has been awesome. But earlier today I saw 2 people bullying a poster because he used AI for his project and for writing up his post. That really ticked me off, because I know it takes 1 bad actor to discourage them from ever writing a post again. So I told them off, said they should bugger off to X or Reddit, they'd be welcomed there, here we prefer constructive commentary and friendliness. Not toxic anti-ai... I hope people atleast look past those outliers, the majority of people here have been absolutely incredible and I've had pretty much an all good experience.
I know what you mean. It only takes one bad interaction to make someone question whether they should post again, especially when they're new.
I'm glad you spoke up for them. Constructive feedback is one thing, but everyone deserves to be treated with respect.
Honestly, I didn't even realize this was happening. My own experience has been nothing but positive. I've received constructive criticism too, but it's always been kind, respectful, and genuinely helpful. I really hope new writers get to experience that side of the community, because it's been one of my favorite things about being on DEV 💙
Same, I've had constructive criticism, on my first post no less... I was called out on my documentation, said my benchmarks need to be far more granular and that's stuck with me, now my benchmarks are 2 pages long and track every stage of processing, which actually helped me develop better, by isolating the bottlenecks based on where the benchmarks are slow. But when I saw them be mean like that, I just couldnt stand it, I reported them and I told them off, cuz we all deserve a safe-space and I like to think Dev.to is that safe-space, where you can share what you've done and get positive feedback for it. Cuz developers are generally shy, or lack peers to share their thoughts with, so if someone makes a post, they're already stretched out on a limb, it takes 1 comment to make them disappear forever and write Dev.to off as another Reddit/X, where it's just a cesspool of insults and belittling. While everyone I've met has tried to keep it a productive, constructive place.
I completely agree with that. I think a lot of us already have so many doubts before we even hit Publish for the first time. It takes a fair bit of courage to put something you've worked on out there, especially when you're new. I can definitely see how one unnecessarily harsh comment could make someone decide not to post again.
That's why I'm really glad people like you speak up when they see it. I hope DEV continues to be the kind of place where new writers feel comfortable sharing their work and learning along the way.
Mostly just the anti-AI people... If you use AI to fix your MD for your post, they hate. If you used AI to create your project, they hate. It's like they dont use AI every single day with all the work they do.. Or atleast they wont admit it. Instead of being kind and saying 'hey, I know it's tough to write in .md for a post, but you can use the dev assistant when you write it so you can learn a new skill!', they say stuff like "Seriously, I hate how theres so many AI projects these days, AI is fine for help but you shouldn't be using it to write entire repos." or "Hey at least I wrote my comment myself, unlike anything in your article <3". I have alot of respect for @madsendev for atleast standing up against them and saying "Great constructive comment. Well done. 👍🏻" Keeping it satirical, instead of digging in to them the way I did. Which imo is the best way a poster can handle it. Let the community have your back and fight your fights, you did enough posting your work, let those who support your work fight for you.
Really appreciate this. And I think you're right, there's not much value in fighting every hostile comment. I'd much rather have the actual discussion around where AI fits into development and how we distinguish AI-assisted work from low-effort generated slop. ❤️