There really are so many ways to find your way into the heart of the community, but I would put chief among everything else is that you have to be yourself, which means you have to have your own opinions on matters and be able to express them properly. Whether you do so in long posts, through helping others, with biting sarcasm, through witty asides, through general madness, or whatever, so long as you remain true to who you are, then you'll eventually be noticed.
Take care all.