Do people not read your Diaries? Well, do you tell them right up front why they would want to? (Journalists call that the lede.) A Diary should let Kossacks know if they would want to open it. Don't make us guess.
Welcome to new and old users alike from this month's host Mokurai. Our group is here to help you orient yourself to the site and answer your questions about how to use it.We know in general why you want us to read your Diaries, because they say something important, or interesting, or perhaps just funny, to you. Maybe you are warning about the imminent demise of Daily Kos, or the Republic, or the world, or for all I know the Multiverse, or informing us of urgent action needed to prevent said demise. Maybe there is a new record for stupidest thing ever said by a Republican. Maybe you found or created an image of teh LOLmost kittehz (or as we say here pooties, or maybe in your case it is woozles instead) evah. Whatever it is, tell us, right up top, why we care. Hardly any of us has the time to click through every uninformative title in the Diary list each day.
You have two chances to tell us, first in the title, and second in the first two lines of the Diary, which appear when somebody hovers over the title link in the Diaries list with a mouse pointer (rollover text). The title has to give the target audience a reason to look at the rollover text, which then has to give them a reason to click through. At the same time, you should provide enough information to let those who are definitely not interested pass on to the next title.
As you can see from the lede in this Diary, that is, the title and first two lines of text above, today's topic is not burying the lede in a Diary. We also have links to a whole Welcome New Users trove of teaching diaries.After that you can ask us any questions about the site you want. [If I don't know the answers someone smarter is bound to be along who does, or I'll go find 'em and bring 'em to ya (wink! wink!).]
AND—if you're new and wondering what is and isn't OK around here, read Kos' Community Guidelines. That'll keep you out of trouble!