#1 The AttitudeIn my opinion, this is the most important quality if you join a new forum or a new community. Your attitude here cannot be just asking, begging, and seek profit for yourself. You need to give something to the BTT community to get "gratuities" in the form of merit point.
Because this is a forum for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, you need to have a decent knowledge before you can make a meaningful post. Your attitude should be "read more and write less," doesn't matter how smart you were in your little pond. Most of the time, you are dumb. This is a place where a newbie can read posts created by satoshi, gmaxwell, Gavin Andresen, and many more bitcoin guru.
Because this forum currently full of spam and scam, as a newbie, there is a high probability that you will experience insult and some hostility from some high-rank member. Just don't get butthurt and move on with your learning process. Many high-rank members are a "filthy rich" millionaire and a bitcoin guru, so actually, it's better to get a response from them, instead of nothing like in our everyday real-life.
#2 Posting a New ReplyBefore you post a reply on a topic, you should follow the discussion, not only read the OP's post but also until last post reply. Most of the time, someone already wrote what you're going to write so don't repeat it. Remember "read more and write less."
Don't reply on a spam topic i.e. topic with little or no new meaningful information. If you have read a lot of topics, you will see that topics like "top altcoin," "bitcoin price," "bitcoin vs fiat," etc., have been created (and answered) multiple times. You want to avoid replying on this "megathread."
When you find a good topic and you can give a meaningful valid reply, then take your time, don't just post short (one-liner) reply without full information. It's not that you have to expand your sentence to get a longer text, but just give clear and concise full information.
Don't claim other work as your work, note that plagiarism will result in a permanent ban. You must give a correct citation if you want to insert a quote from another writer.
#3 Posting a New TopicBefore you create a new topic, you must use the search button and/or google site search. Use
keyword site:bitcointalk.org
Just don't create a duplicate post if you don't have new information to share. As a newbie, actually you will rarely need to create your own topic.
Merit can be earned anywhere including your local board. If you have a limited English like me, consider creating a good quality topic on your local board. It's easier to write a good quality topic on the local board because not many papers were translated/reworked and discussed in the local language.
You don't need fancy style or heavy formatting to create a good post, let your writing speak for itself. You can also create your own bitcoin guide to help local member learn about bitcoin in a serial post. See my local learning thread, for example,
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/edukasi-dari-private-key-sampai-ke-bitcoin-address-untuk-pemula-4459504 on this thread I use self-moderation to remove spam to keep clean of my "classroom."
#4 Make Friends (and Enemies)When you participate in the effort of making this forum better, you'll naturally attract other good members to become your friend, or at least frequently interact with them. However, you also attract other shitposters, spammers, and fellow "newbies who don't get it" to hate you. Related to this spammers, you have two options: become a cunt or become a Dalai Lama. It's your personal choice.
First of all, I think a thank you is in place, and then I can say that this has been a nice read about your personal experience and the educational journey of "do"-s and "don't"-s you have come to respect and practice.
Now, I would like to share something about myself and my journey in this scary wonderful place that this forum and community is (and it is AMAZING hehe)
I have been a member on the forum for a year now, and have educated myself and gathered knowledge on the same forum for a few years now. I may have been taking my sweet time with posting on topics and replies, but I thought at the time that the issues were already addressed (as I like to read back quite a bit) or my opinion wasn't valid or helpful enough to warrant a post from me. Hence, I am a 1 year member with a Newbie account with 5 posts (6 posts, this one included) and no merit - AND THIS IS FINE. I wouldn't have it any other way. Why?
Well, the answer to this question is simple - I have learned so much and have grown as an investor and supporter of crypto projects, that in my mind I am the one who has benefited so much and have given back to the community so little, it shames me. But yeah, I completely agree with "read more write less" and would add "don't say anything if you have nothing to say" (informative or constructive, with a brief explanation as to why), and have been following this rule as a general principal in life.
Following these principals, I can now say that I have the knowledge and know-how (still have a lot to learn though) to be able to take over and revive a cryptocurrency project and make it grow, flourish and succeed, because I believe its the right thing to do (lazy devs, didnt want to make an effort and didnt want to do the work)......
And before I go off topic here, just wanted to give a sincere thank you to the OP for sharing his journey with us, and making an effort to help out the new forum members on how to properly and sincerely become part of the amazing crypto community we have