Die by the Blade Thanks You

Die by the Blade has been part of SB Nation for just over two years.  It took awhile for the community to build but this summer it has expanded well beyond my wildest dreams.  This past weekend we reached over 400 members of the site. 

That number is well below what most of the other sites on SB Nation have but it is a huge number for this site.  When the Sabres season ended back in November we were between 250-270 members and that number has increased greatly.  Even more important is the amount of comments has increased and we have added a couple of new members to our community.

The rest of the summer will be dedicated to our current and hopefully future community members.  I have posted tips to navigating the site on other occasions but I figure with the recent boom in traffic and membership this would be a good opportunity to share some tips with you.

Community Guidelines

Now that you're signed up you are ready to become an active member of the community.  The entire list of guidelines can be read here but all you have to do is show your passion and be polite to the other users and you'll be fine.

Comments

We encourage you to become an active member of Die by the Blade and the best way to do it is commenting on a post.  It's extremely easy to do and there are some helpful tips as well.  When you click in a post and you want to separate the comments you have read from the comments you haven't read it's easy...press the "z" to highlight the first comment, press "z" again and it will mark it read.  After every comment you read press "z" to mark it read.  The rest of the comment functions are listed at the top of the comment section on every post.

FanPosts and FanShots

This is the best feature of Die by the Blade and every blog that is part of SB Nation.  It is your opportunity to really become a part of the community and to share your opinions.  Instead of spelling it all out here for you, I'll direct you to Buffalo Rumblings where Brian has done an outstanding job of explaining them.

Manager : D.O.

I am the founder of Die by the Blade and proud of being the first ever hockey blog on SB Nation.  SB Nation has expanded the Hockey group and now have all but four teams covered.  You'll get to know me as you keep reading but the short story is simple.  I am the eternal Sabres optimist but get frustrated easily.  I would consider myself  a management apologist and agree with letting go of Briere and to a lesser extent Chris Drury.

Coach : coolman856

As the blog continued to grow, it was important that another writer come aboard.  Coolman856 joined us a couple of months ago and has done an outstanding job since joining the team.  He is the brains behind the Daily Roundup and is also the man that will get you prepared to watch every game with his extensive previews.

If you are new to the community we encourage you to comment and really take part in the discussion.  If you just want to read along that is fine to.  Remember to introduce yourself at our fanshot dedicated to community building.

Thank you for helping to make Die by the Blade into an outstanding Buffalo Sabres community.  In my wildest dreams I couldn't have predicted that the site would start to take off in the summer time but it has because of you.  If you have any ideas that could make the community even better feel free to e-mail me.