Over the past couple of months there has been a large influx of new users on steemit, which of course is awesome! Platform growth is one of the main priorities of every user on here, and I for one find this encouraging and exciting.

But I've noticed a few things that I feel could be addressed, from comments to posts, and while I'm sure that many people have written helpful articles for newbies, I figured it couldn't hurt to compose one more. Particularly from someone who not only walked in their shoes, but remembers the journey clearly.

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Think of this as Steemit's Unwritten Rules. Every community has them, and once you've been here for a while they become obvious. But in the beginning it can definitely be tricky. Much like moving into a new town, except this town is exceptional. Because this town involves the whole of the world yet somehow has the feeling of a relatively small place. In the sense that so many of us that have been here seem to share common views, desires, passions, and philosophies.

I personally believe this is because a fairly large portion of the human race is evolving. Readying for the next stage of consciousness, of a world where creativity and inventiveness, sharing and seeking to love and understand one another as well as the mysteries of this place, is going to take precedence. We are not quite there yet, we obviously still base a lot of what we do on monetary gain. But real change, big change, never happens overnight, so I think of this as the first step in that direction- which means the old world and the new will mix for a time.

I'll talk more about this at the end, but I think I should probably launch into the promised guide for newbies first.

Okay so let's begin with--

When dealing with authors who have been here for some time- have a high REP (this is the number next to your screen name, which begins at 25 and hopefully goes up-I'll discuss this more later) or a significant amount of SP (Steem Power, if you look in your wallet you will see the different forms of currency for the platform. The more Steem Power you have, the greater your vote) or both, you should not:

1)
a)Leave a half-assed comment about the post
b)then put a link to your own post,
c)or tell the author to follow you,
d)or tell the author to upvote your posts,
e)or tell the author to resteem your posts,
f)or do any combination of the above.

Even if you leave a thoughtful comment about the post you should not do any of, or any combination of the above. In some cases it could annoy the author enough for them to downvote you. See this post by @nonameslefttouse as an example.

You also should not:

2)
a)ever spam. Ever.
In case you are unclear about what constitutes spam:
b)Writing a comment then copy/pasting this comment to multiple users is considered spam.
c)Putting links to your posts in comment sections, also spam. (Unless the author of the post is a friend of yours and you know they won't mind)
d)Putting gifs or pics that do not pertain to the post you are in, particularly if you put them in multiple posts? Spam.
(With the exception that the gif is your signature and you also write a thoughtful comment to go with it, *see @creatr's comments for an example)
e)multiple posts about the same thing--BIG SPAM.

*Should you do any of the above you are likely to be downvoted/flagged. Should you do it often, you are likely to attract a whale who will put you on a downvote bot. In many cases this results in your posts being muted. See this blog for an example.

In extreme cases you will attract an entire trail that will put you on a downvoting bot which will hit every post and comment you make until your rep falls below zero and you will no longer have the opportunity to reap any rewards. See this blog for that example.

Recently I also came across a comment that was pretty much extortion, which I will deem the biggest DON'T of this article. It went something like: "If you respond to this comment, follow me, and upvote my post, I will upvote this post and follow you."

Ummm, dude, come on.

So those are the biggies, or what every newbie should know not to do. Now I'm going to give you a basic outline of how you should go about making friends with steemit 'veterans', or as I said above-those who have been here for quite some time, who have a high REP or a significant amount of SP.

One thing to understand is that it isn't necessarily a matter of the veterans thinking their hot stuff (though I'm sure some do), it's more that they have many followers, many people commenting, and therefore their time is very limited. So wasting it is counter-productive for both you and them.

If you've come to my page, for example, and asked me to visit your blog-I do try to do it. Though many others get annoyed with this, I understand that being new you are unaware of the etiquette so I don't tend to get upset if you aren't following all of the 'unwritten rules.' However, I just don't always have the time. I am FAR more likely to make the time for people in the following circumstances, and I'm willing to bet others are as well--

Basic do's (it was easier to make a point by point list of don't's, for this part it will be a bit less formulaic)

Leave a well-thought out comment on a post, introduce yourself and let the author know that you are new, then come back to the same author and leave another thoughtful comment. And one more-At this point it would be fine for you to say something along the lines of "I would love it if you find an opportunity to have a look at my page."

(With certain people you can get away with using this tactic right off the bat, but I would suggest two comments minimum, because many authors might be looking for you to return enough times that it's obvious you are interested in their material, and not just looking to make an influential friend.)

Also, to be clear, when I say a well-thought out comment, I don't mean a paragraph of flowery compliments. Just something that lets the author know that you have read the post and not just the title and a few highlights. Of course compliments are great, but there is a fine line between genuine complimenting and arse-kissing.

To be clear though, this is a social platform, so Be Social. Talk to people. But don't just tell them Great Post, tell them why their post is great. Don't just tell them you love what they have to say, tell them what you love about what they have to say. Strike up a conversation. Don't just tell them their art is excellent, tell them what about it you find worthy of excellence.

Be genuine.

With your comments, and also your posts.

And that's really all I have for a definite Do list. It's much easier to point out what should not be done. What should be done...it's very much dependent on the individual and their personality. I can tell you how I do things, but if you have a different nature than me, then it could potentially hurt more than help.

At the beginning I said I had more to say concerning how special this platform is.

Recently @nonameslefttouse put up a post and just below his 'signature' he wrote- He's got the whole world, in his hands.

I continued the song in the comments and he told me he had no idea why he'd written that. It had nothing to do with the rest of his post after all. I had the song "It's a small world after all" stuck in my head a couple days prior to this, and for me it seemed connected. Just as so many things have seemed connected since the day I joined. Despite it's diversity, there is a unity.

Though I'm writing this for the newcomers in particular, I also wanted to speak to those who have been here for awhile. Some for over a year, or just over a half a year like myself.
As I've said, this place, despite being global, despite being of every ethnicity you can name, is for the most part a large Cheers.

And there is no reason why it can't continue to be so while it expands. It's true that eventually, if not already, it will be impossible for everyone to know everyone else, but we can still care about those we don't know, we can still feel connected to them and make them feel connected to us, included. For every person we follow they might get close to a hundred people we don't know and we'll be connected to those hundred through them.

This is a special place. Almost magical. And I can see no reason why it shouldn't retain these aspects even after millions climb aboard. It is a small world in the grand scheme of things, we are brothers and sisters on a tiny planet in a vast universe.

I have never felt that more than I have these past months of being on this platform.

So let's all work together, the veterans and newbies alike, to keep this place going in the right direction--

forward.

Generously created for me by @son-of-satire