Let me start by pointing out that:

I'm just a minnow myself
I have no right to set a code of conduct, other than the right that all of us have to do so
If you don't like it, I'd like to hear why in the comments below

Now that I have gotten that out of the way I can begin.

I am writing this post to try to help foster the type of experience I believe most avid users of the site are hoping for. Valuable content posted by a disparate group of people, found by those with interest and valued by those who find value in the content.

If you're trying to figure out how to be the next Heidi, this isn't the post for you (although there are plenty of posts for you out there, if you wrote one feel free to put the link in a comment).

If you're trying to figure out ways to beat the system, this isn't the post for you (although, again, there are plenty out there for you).

If you're trying to figure out how to run around steemitland all day collecting fractions of pennies, yep, plenty of posts to choose from.

If you're here to share value and build onto this wonderful platform, I suggest the below Code of Conduct related to curation, discourse, and content creation.

CURATION

I begin with curation, and so should you. You just walked into a room full of people you don't know. Listen to them. Break the ice with an "I agree" now and then (when you agree, more on that later). Show you care about what they have to say by READING what they have to say.

When should you upvote a post?

When you read it, and like it, and feel it has value and added something to the community, you should upvote it.

What about waiting for 30 minutes, or being the first vote?

Neither matters unless you're here to collect fractions of pennies. Which you aren't. So just vote when you like it.

What if my voting power is low?

Doesn't matter. You read something and you liked it? Give it an upvote. Besides, you have a life outside of Steemit, and you're actually READING the stuff you're upvoting, so you'll never be at 100% and never at 0%.

Will I make money curating?

Well, you'll make the site better. And people who receive your upvote may be more likely to read your work later. And some day you may accidentally upvote some overlooked tidbit during the "magic upvote minute" and a pod of whales may come by right behind you and make you rich. But that's not likely. It is likely that as you get better and better at curation you will receive more and more in terms of rewards from doing so.

COMMENTS

OK, you've read something that piqued your interest. You've probably upvoted it. You may not have wanted to because you DISAGREE with the poster, but you thought her comments were valuable so you said so. You didn't downvote because they didn't break any 'rules' -- you're new but you realize that downvoting (flagging) is not the same as disagreeing and you reserve the downvote for where it's appropriate. Come to think of it, I think someone should offer up a post (or comment below, discourse welcome!) on their take on the "right way to use the downvote".

So you've read, and you're ready to reply. You're ready to ADD VALUE to something of value, right? You're not about to comment "Nice!" or "I agree" or "Yeah" or put in an annoying GIF of someone clapping their hands secretly hoping someone accidentally drops part of a penny into your needy outstretched hands.

Your reply should make clear that -yes!- you read the entire original post and you are replying to either disagree with a particular point and provide a valuable counterpoint, or take a certain point further than the original poster took it. Ideally your comment should be three things simultaneously:

verification of the value of the original post, and
an addition of further value, and
an invitation to further discourse

You did it. You added value. Now you're going to monitor your "recent replies" tab because it's only polite to pay attention to anyone who was polite enough to pay attention to you.

DON'T DROP THE MIC.

Will I make money from my discourse?

Whether you receive monetary value from what you just did remains to be seen, but that's not why you did it, so you feel good. That said, good discourse has as better chance of making money than mediocre content.

CONTENT CREATION

Step One: If you don't have anything to say, that can be accomplished without posting.

Go ahead and scroll through the "new" page and mentally segregate the posts into two buckets, one for "this person is trying to add something of value to the community" posts and one for "this person is trying to make money by pretending to be adding something of value to the community" posts.

One bucket is full. Add to the other bucket.

But what's of value?

That's a great question, I'm so glad you asked. Go ahead and look at the things that are (or have been) trending. You'll see:

Posts that teach others, either about steem, steemit, blockchain, pottery, or crochet. People love to learn. If you have something to teach, this is a great place to do it.
Posts that extol the virtues of Steemit. This kind of post will probably begin to lose steam (ahem) over time. I'd only do this if you have something new to add.
Honest, open posts about your interesting life. People like to hear about this. Don't do it to get rich, although one or two of you will.
New things you've created using the steem blockchain. That's one of the beauties of the decentralized nature of what we're using right now -- you can make it even better. You don't have to wait for "them" to make it for you.
Beauty. Art. You are right now on the first platform that provides a way to feed a starving artist without buying their work. All you need to do is appreciate it. So if you're an artist, share what you do. Some of us will appreciate it.
Posts that have the potential to bring a new group of users to the platform. It's not that "the makeup video" was the best makeup video ever, it's that it had the potential to bring makeup-video-consumers to Steemit.
CREATIVE THINGS TO DO WITH THE PLATFORM that 'they' didn't think of / have time to do / thought would be worthwhile. I would love to see links to some of these in comments! I thought about trying to compile a list of these, but I don't want to be the judge of worthwhile-ness.

When should I post my content?

When you're done writing it.

What time of day gets the most upvotes?

I don't know. And that's not why you're posting.

How do I get the whales to like me?

I don't know. But there are plenty of minnows, and their upvotes / discourse / discussion is just as valuable. Unless you're here for the money. Which you're not.

Don't you have to get back to work?

I do. So I'll stop here. But I'll sum up for those who were put off by so many words and no pictures ("aren't you supposed to add pictures to get the upvotes?" "probably so, oh well").

Read before you write.

Think before you comment.

Upvote posts and comments that deserve it.

Post when you have something to say.

#minnowcode

#minnowcodeofconduct #mcoc