Note: I don't do a good enough job of reminding people of some of the features of SBN. Frankly, even if you don't like to comment or create FanPosts like this one, it's worth creating a user name (you can use already-existing Yahoo and Open IDs) just for the benefits outlined below, which make accessing this and other SBN team- or sport-specific sites a much better experience.

Before I started this site I was a lurker at other SBN sites -- which is what drew me to want to blog here -- and when I finally created a user name, I was stunned by what I'd been missing. You get a lot more from this with a user login.

(And no, logging in doesn't give me super Big Brother powers or the like. But I might ask for a DNA sample. You know, just for "research.")

[Update June 3: In addition to the do-hickeys and whatzits outlined below, you can now connect your SBN account to your Twitter feed, so if you post a FanPost here you can choose to automatically send it to Twitter, with shortened URL and your own pithy title, etc. Pretty cool.]

Anyway, here are some of the tools you might be missing (with big, extra thanks to SBN baseball analysis site Beyond the Boxscore, from whom I stole this post):

• The number of new comments for front page Stories (and FanShots and FanPosts) is listed next to the number of total comments on the front page and the archives page.  You'll always know when there's something added to the discussion without having to remember how many total comments there were last time you visited.
  
• When you're on a post page, new comments have a slightly yellow background and you can easily jump to new comments by hitting the "z" key.  You'll never have to scroll looking for new comments again.  Plus, new comments are added live, so there's no reason to refresh pages (this particularly helps during game threads).
• If you are a member of multiple SBN blogs, there is a drop-down menu at the top of the screen that lists all your blogs and how many new Stories, FanPosts, and FanShots have been posted since the last time you visited each blog.  You can even select some blogs as favorites and they'll show up at the top of your list.

If you do decide to create an account and post a few comments, there are some additional nifty tools to help keep you organized.

• By going to your profile page (click on your name at the top of the screen) you can see the last fifty or so comments you've left across all SBN blogs and how many replies there to your comment.  It's a great way to keep track of conversations you've recently been a part of.
• Also on your profile page, you can click on "Blog" to see all the Stories, FanShots, and FanPosts you've posted across all SBN blogs.  This is handy for looking at other users' Blogs as well, if you're a fan of their work.  You can even RSS their stuff across all blogs in one feed.  This feature is useful even if you're not a member.

Any other tips I'm missing or reasons to become a member other than commenting?