So you're new to Duke City Fix or this whole online community thing? As you explore our site, please take a moment to learn how best to participate here.

Community.

DCF has been around since 2005 so, as you can imagine, there's a pretty strong community of readers. I'd encourage you to limit your promotional activities. You might take the following approach to easing into things:

• Join the site. Check out the groups and forums
• Introduce yourself if you've joined a group.
• Read and post comments on other people's stories. Offer tips or related stories and links.
• Wait a week or two before posting self-promotional comments, stories, etc. Exercise restraint please.
• Always be wary of spamming people. Do NOT email groups of people with self-promotional ranting. Doing so is a sure way of getting yourself booted.

Basically, consider this site an ongoing conversation rather than a free and anonymous bulletin board. It's important if you join the conversation to introduce yourself, listen, participate, etc. Anything else is considered barging into a group of people without introducing yourself and asking, "Hey, I've got a deal for you. Wannna buy this 14k gold watch?"

Yeah, not a great way to join the conversation.
See also: Getting the word out on Duke City Fix

Trust & Civility.

One of the guiding principles here is trust. Content visible on the main page can be added by almost everybody that has joined Duke City Fix. Anyone can post a comment without editorial oversight and only minimal moderation. (See also: Our Moderation Policy)

I give you the ability to do this because I trust you. I trust that you'll act in a civilized manner, that you'll treat others with opposing viewpoints with absolute respect, that you'll contribute in a positive way to the intelligent and constructive discussions that take place here regularly.

I give you this opportunity, because I trust you and believe that your thoughts on Albuquerque are important. In exchange, all that I ask is that you honor this trust and be a good contributor.

Reciprocity.

There are unspoken rules to the game of web participation. Many of these guidelines reinforce the reciprocal exchange of information and ideas.

For example, good web citizens leave insightful comments for other people. In their own posts, good web citizens give credit to the source for a story or idea if they were inspired elsewhere online. You don't win bonus points by claiming credit for others' ideas, but you do by sharing the source of your inspiration.

What I'm asking you to do is give back.

Hyperlink.

If you're not already familiar with it, learn how to hyperlink.

Your story, event, or tip offers very little to the rest of the world if you don't link to supplemental websites. For example, if you write about a local restaurant, link to a map. If you blog about a story on another site, link to it.

Duke City Fix is read by people all over the country who may or may not be familiar with Albuquerque. Thinking about your community of readers makes for a great story and the kind of meaningful interaction that forms the basis of life on the internet.

HINT:You can add a hyperlink to your post by clicking the link icon which looks like this. This toolbar is sometimes hidden in the Safari browser, so I recommend Firefox or IE.

Have Fun. Be Safe.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for joining Duke City Fix. I hope this site enriches your experience of life in Albuquerque.

[Photo credit to iieef for the random group shot]