how do i dreamwidth (2.0 i think)

[deepestbluesky]

insert pleading emoji and hands pointing at each other bc im too lazy to figure out if i can insert that here easily

i would love to use DW more often because i think i like the idea of this style of interaction a lot and i've never really participated in a space/platform/community like that! however due to [see above] i actually have no idea how to like.... do that..... i feel like to me, i think of it as kind of like ao3? you post stuff and maybe people respond. but like. how do you find new people? how much chatting and interacting is encouraged and/or desired on posts? what kind of stuff is reasonable for me to post? i realize that these are all subjective and no one will have coherent answers but i'm feeling very adrift for not having expectations here haha

Comments

[poppyseedheart]

I've successfully made a few friends by seeing who is commenting on my friends' posts about mutual interests and then just guerrilla subscribing to them and commenting on their posts every now and again until we become mutuals and then I guess friends?? There's also a really great kpop dw community that I've been finding/connecting people through which has been lucky and very fun.

It's definitely harder, though! And I think requires a certain amount of "I'm just gonna do this thing and if I've broken etiquette somewhere oops and sorry" at least on my end, so I wouldn't necessarily take all of my advice haha.

[deepestbluesky]

hahah yes okay a good reminder! bc i do look through comments on people's posts that i know, so of course that's a way to find people. and it's probably also good for me to remember that you can just... reply to other people's comments! we will see how it goes

[dangercupcake]

When I feel like my dw reading page needs new folks, I look at whose comments I find most interesting in communities, and follow those people. Then I comment on their posts and engage with them and see if I really think they are cool and interesting! Most people probably want interaction, since if they did not they wouldn't be posting to an online community with comments turned on. (That's my exp anyway.)

[deepestbluesky]

ooohhh that makes a ton of sense!!! communities have really intimidated me in the past, because they feel very different to other ways i've interacted online, but it seems like they're the way to go for what i'm looking for. and also, as you point out, the people who are actively posting and replying in comments are likely the types of people who want interaction!

[vriddy]

I have a friend who found comms intimidating as well and found it helpful to think of them like Tumblr tags: like, posting there is like tagging your post with [fandom name] so people interested can potentially find it and you, and chat. People who aren't looking to talk to new people wouldn't talk in those shared spaces, indeed :D

[bluedreaming]

Checking friending memes and communities like addme can be helpful. It’s also helpful to check a journal’s pinned posts and profile to see if they say anything about following or commenting. There was also a recent post about people coming over from Reddit with some suggestions for people new to Dreamwidth (both in the post and in comment replies that might be worth a look.

The June Something is also happening right now, and sunshine_challenge is soon!

[deepestbluesky]

i saw the reddit post!!! it was very convenient timing for me :D although i did end up opening too many tabs and i got overwhelmed so maybe i'll go back through and do a bit at a time lol.

ooohhh i'll have to check out the sunshine_challenge! i've heard of snowflake_challenge but i didn't realize there was something similar (?) in the summer

[bluedreaming]

Oh yeah, trying to do all the things is very overwhelming!

I think I’m a bit of an anomaly, but I primarily navigate dw via email (I track comms and all the journals I subscribe to) so I can star posts I maybe want to read or comment on later, and can also reply to comments directly via email (which has the benefit of saving comment drafts and being even more mobile friendly). Not to say that you need to do this, of course(!) but finding a way to navigate that works best for you is the most comfortable.

Oh, also definitely turn the beta inbox and beta editor/new entries on, and canary too, at https://www.dreamwidth.org/beta as they’re more mobile friendly and also you get the newest features (via canary).

Sunshine challenge is a little different because you get creative prompts rather than meme type questions/exercises, but you can go in any direction with them (create something, blog about thoughts, etc.) so it’s a little more freeform.

Edit: I’m not sure if you want comments on your sticky post, but I love the little section at the bottom you mentioned maybe using similar to Tumblr tags! So neat ♡

[deepestbluesky]

ohhhh i didn't even think about being able to use DW via email in that way! that's super cool that it has enough email functionality to do that. i don't really plan to use DW on mobile (i'm trying to use less social media on my phone overall) but it is VERY useful to know about ways to make it work better on mobile, because i have wondered about that before.

oh neat! i haven't ever done snowflake challenge either but i have at least heard of it, so i'll be excited to see what sunshine is like

thank you!! i love having a place to put like... semi-related thoughts without eight hundred parenthetical phrases (which. i already kind of did in the sticky post lol, i had to cut back at one point) so tumblr tags work really nicely as that for me, and i like the idea of using something like that here! and turns out an hr rule and the "small" tag make something that's like halfway between a footnote and tumblr tags, which honestly feels perfect! (also i'm going to go add that i'm fine with comments on that post, thank you for reminding me to make that explicit :D )

[vriddy]

Hiii just popping over from sunshine_challenge! :D sharpest_arp is currently collecting recs for places around Dreamwidth, and just this morning I shared a few tips on how to meet people here so please allow me to be rude and copy-paste those links here too, haha :D

How to make friends on Dreamwidth by apaintedmaypole.
How to Get Established on Dreamwidth by galadhir.
How the heck do I find cool stuff and people on Dreamwidth, anyhow? by bisexualbaker.
how to find comms on dw & and how to get people to find your comm by novembermond.

addme, addme_fandom, add_a_writer and other topic-specific Add me comms (resources list by ysabetwordsmith) are also a good way to find people to add to one's circles.

I see you have a Paid Account so the Network page (friends-of-friends page) can be a neat way to meet cool people as well.

I like to share resources like these in my "Dreamwidth tips" tag whenever I come across something interesting.

As for comms, in my experience most comm admins are grateful for any kind of participation, as long as it's mostly on topic :)

I hope you find something helpful somewhere in there!! And manage to create a comfortable space for yourself, here.