Welcome to Steemit! As your self-appointed Steem Pope, it is my solemn duty to offer guidance to my fellow Steemians in order to promote a healthy community and strengthen the spirit of the Blockchain Faithful. Today's sermon is about ways to be a better Steemian. We all want people to read our posts, comment on them, and upvote what we write. Well, as in other parts of our lives, the Golden Rule applies: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!"

Post original content!

Be a content creator, not a reposter spamming the feed with plagiarized content. This isn't Facebook. Don't just share memes and articles. Memes can be handy illustrations for your content, and in-depth analysis or commentary on an article can be useful, but make sure what you post demonstrates yourself, not the cardboard cutout of someone else.

How often should you post? Well, how often can you create quality content? Once a week, once a day, every couple days, or several times a day? Don't be a spammer, though. The old soft cap of four posts per day may be gone, but it's still a good idea to limit how often you post to no more than that. Don't be afraid to save your post drafts in a text document on your computer so you have something to share on a day when your muse is not cooperating and writer's block looms large.

Comment!

Read what others have written, and if you agree with a post, say why. "Nice post!" is indistinguishable from votebait spam. If you disagree with a post, write a clear explanation why to present a counterargument. Be polite, though. Steemit is a platform where people tend to punish uncivil discourse, and rightly so. Disagreement does not justify verbal abuse.

Don't forget to also reply to comments on your own posts, or replies to your comments elsewhere. It is through substantive comments and conversation that people build relationships here and find the user communities that will help them grow.

Vote!

I am not a fan of democracy as a political mechanism, but here on Steemit, your vote does matter. Upvote posts you like, especially if you comment on them to offer praise. Praise without an upvote looks shallow and dishonest. Upvote substantive comments people make in your own posts! It's a powerful way to encourage interaction. Upvote substantive comments you see elsewhere, too! If you feel a comment has added value to a conversation, your upvote is an immediate way to acknowledge it.

Flags are a more difficult tool to use well. Obviously, abuse should be flagged. Spam, plagiarlism, abusive behavior, etc. warrants a flag. Consider reporting such behavior to Steemcleaners, especially if you do not have sufficient vote power for your own flag to have a significant impact. Flags based on disagreement with content or post rewards is a rather stickier situation. My advice is to just ignore posts you dislike, or else respond only with a polite and reasoned comment. As for the rewards arguments, leave that to the whales and dolphins who want to fight that battle and stay out of their way.

Resteem!

If a post particularly interests you, and you believe it would be beneficial to your readers, share it with the Resteem button! Don't share more than you create yourself, though, as a general rule. If your own blog is predominantly resteemed content, other users can't get to know you, and your feed will likely not be followed.

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If this sermon was helpful, please consider commenting, upvoting, and resteeming it to others! And, as always, if you have committed sins against Blog, you can receive papal absolution by sending Steem or SBD to me along with a comment containing your confession!*

*Neither eternal salvation nor temporal peace is guaranteed by the Steem Pope's absolution of blogging sins.