Tue
8
Aug '06
I have been a member over at Digg.com for about 6 months now. This is a site that has hit the ground running. It has exploded on the internet like a bomb. But as the site continues to grow, I think it’s important to keep in mind that it’s members have a responsibility to themselves, the community, and the internet as a whole.
This is a list I have put together that explains some things that users can do to help keep digg a great place to be. I will also note that these things are my personal opinion. In no way, shape, or form do I expect anyone to consider these guidelines, and I really don’t want to hear about how you think I’m wrong.
- Read the article. The entire point of digg is to get news out to the masses. It’s important to read the article. I think that a lot of users, and I have done this myself, read the title and the description and click the digg button. This is especially true if you are going to comment on the item. Nothing will start a comment war quicker than commenting on something that was mentioned in the article, but you didn’t know it because you didn’t read it.
- Make your comments count. I see a lot of comments like “nice article”, “good read”, “thanks”. Although these are valid comments, I don’t think this is what the digg comment system should be used for. I think it should be used for a discussion about the article. Things such as further reading, opinions on the article, and possible experience in something related to the article.
- Submit a direct link. I have seen this many many many times. A user thinks he can drive traffic to his blog by posting a link to the story in his blog and then submitting the blog story to digg. Trust me, nothing will get a story buried quicker, with more negative comments. Just keep your links direct.
- Don’t submit old news or duplicates. Everyone already knows that the space shuttle Challenger exploded. There is no need to submit that story. Digg is a place for news. The keyword in news, being “new”. Also, don’t submit a story that has already been submitted. When attempting to submit a story, digg warns you if the story has already been submitted, if it has don’t bother submitting it again. I’m not really sure why they even have the “submit anyway button”.
- Honor thy friends. I depend a lot on my friends list, and I think other users should too. Keep track of the “friend’s activity” on the left hand menu. Your friends can lead you to some stories that you may have missed. After all Digg seems to have upcoming stories and popular stories. Your friends can be the connection to everything in between.
That’s all I have for for now. Keep on digging, and add me if you see the need. GreenLantern33.
Good article GL but you’re dreaming.
I’ll give you an A+ for the sentiment though. 
Digg users are going use digg they way they want to use it, no matter what; at least that’s what I think.
The comments are horrific now that they’ve branched off into new categories, and I’d like to see them cleaned up, but even I’m guilty of making stupid comments now and then.
The problen with the bury comments feature is that people like me waste their time and open those buried comments back up just to see what was written. Although it sounds anti-democratic I wish digg would just delete comments that have -10 thumbs down. (although I understand why they won’t
)
Also, I understand your point about linking directly to the source but I could really care less where the ‘interesting’ story comes from so long as it is interesting. Joe Blow took the time to put the story on his blog and Joe Blow took the time to post it on digg so why should I punish him for the effort? Is it better to push that traffic to the big corporations?
GL I’m not sure if you saw the article about the photoshopped ‘news’ photo on Reuters but that made me wonder (once again) why and how we can put so much faith in the ‘big guys’.
I’m getting off topic but sometimes the nature of digg of is to digg stories from Engadget, just because it’s Engadget if you get my drift.
I won’t digg down articles unless they’re lame or they have chinese characters as the title.
**start Forrest Gump voice**
That’s all I have to say about that
**end Forrest Gump voice**
p.s. good job on the urls. Just get rid of the dates
Sorry for the double post but I forgot to include the url for the Reuters photoshopped photo story.
Anyways, here it is: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3286966,00.html