Link to a topic, not an action!

Mission accomplished.

What news blog do you run?

It's nice of you to provide a community venue like that.

I think that people need to have discussions about what is and is not acceptable behavior. If a community has clear standards, people are more likely to behave in a civil manner.

Sometimes, too, people have lousy communication habits because they don't know any better. You might consider running a series of essays on social skills or nonviolent communication; here is a favorite resource for that:
http://adrr.com/aa/
Something else that's helpful on a community level is reporting good news, charitable opportunities, and other things that encourage people to work together instead of sniping at each other.

You're entitled to your opinion and your free speech; you're entitled to make arguments for why your opinion is valid. You're not entitled to use that opinion to beat people over the head, any more than you're entitled to hit them with your fist. Freedom of speech does not guarantee a captive audience. Plus which, you are more likely to convince people if you are polite than if you are obnoxious. If all you're going to do is press your ass to the mail slot, fart into it, and leave ... then you are not doing anything to further your cause or to justify your use of oxygen atoms.

I'm glad I could help.

>>I'm also going to be doing a series on "Here's how you become a blogger, here's the free and easy to use tools on the internet to express YOUR opinion" posts on there on Tuesdays -- I think it's important to empower the community on how to speak for itself -- so if you have any guidance there, it's very welcome.<<

Best blog system for socializing: LiveJournal
Best blog system for business: WordPress (use a premade theme)

Best way to be polite: notice what annoys you and don't do that.
Best source of unique content: when you spend more than 5-10 minutes searching for a piece of information or trying to explain something, blog about it.
Best source of useful content: the third time someone asks you a question, blog the answer.
Best advice for bloggers: when people pay attention to you, make sure you deliver what they paid for, because attention is the most precious resource on the internet.

Finally, for the love of English, please proofread your posts!

>>You're right on the need for positive stuff: it's definitely something I want to see happen, and I think it would increase community engagement. <<

Try talking to people who are in a position to see good news when it happens: teachers, pastors, charity workers, etc. Cultivate them and ask them what is going on. Also, in a community of @3000 people, you probably have a handful or two of folks who make a point of knowing everything that happens. Find out who they are, wind them up and let them go.

Something else I have noticed is that elders have many skills that used to be ubiquitous and are now vanishing rapidly. Listen for the beginning of the "Kids these days...!" rant. Point out that a lot of young people have not had the opportunity to learn some things that used to be taken for granted. Offer a chance to talk about those things and teach them through the community newsletter. It can be little stuff like, "When you see someone with their hands full approaching a door, open the door for them."