Topic: Who is newbie and how long does it take to navigate the forum? (Read 765 times)

I really agree with you, mate. A newbie account doesn't always reflect the knowledge of the user, it is just a level of forum account. A newbie account can have a better knowledge and experience than high rank accounts. I often saw newbies that can explain very well about certain matters related to crypto or this forum. So, we can't judge the knowledge and experience based on the level of account forum only. I believe some experts or experienced people, may have newbie accounts. It is because they don't focus on growing their accounts in this forum, they just have the intention to discuss with others. Also, they may have a little time to build their account level since they are busy with their activities in trading or investment.

Interesting discussion- I think this really depends on how you define a "newbie" on a given platform or topic.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a "newbie" is a person who has recently started a particular activity.¹ Given the examples that you provided OP, I think the best person that falls under this category is the first example, which is:


The second and third person had already spent a time on this forum since they have accumulated at least 7 days and 25 days of total log-in time in this forum. It is safe to say that they have already read some posts and even made threads about BTC even if they failed to garner some merit.

Though again this can be a technical discussion since there may be people who are considered as "newbies" despite having lots of total log-in time, the definition of what a newbie is best describe the first person you have mentioned.

Personally, however, I consider all of them as newbies as there are more factors that may upgrade a newbie to an expert.

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1 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/newbie

I will try to answer logically based on my views on this question.

This type of newbie will never feel ranked up due to the short login time and limited knowledge. The time spent browsing the forum is very limited, there is no increase in posts. It is very difficult to get out of the Newbie circle as long as there is no desire to explore the forum deeper and improve the quality of posts.

This type of user is not a new member on the forum, maybe he is an old member hiding behind Newbie (that's my opinion based on the very fast progress achieved). He really understands how to get merit, his extensive knowledge about crypto and being very close to the forum makes it easier to find a way to get merit.

This user is still unable to interact with the forum due to his limited knowledge, he is very careful when making posts with all the fears that are still bothering him. Maybe he spends more time reading than posting, he tries to absorb the knowledge spread here to increase his knowledge about crypto. Users like this are true newbies, they try to explore forums to expand their knowledge without rushing to rank up.

In my opinion, newbies in forums are those who don't understand forum rules, and actually it doesn't take long to find out how forums work as long as we diligently read and view as many threads as possible. I think a month is enough time to understand how this forum works

Newbies in bitcoin are those who don't know about bitcoin and how it works. Even though in theory it may be easy to know, without practice it will be difficult to understand it thoroughly. I still feel like a newbie when it comes to bitcoin because I don't know much about bitcoin

This has not been my experience, to be honest. I never got accused of something like that. However, I actually did not know a bunch of things before I registered, since I was only ever browsing Development & Technical Discussion and its sub-boards and using web search to find what I needed.

Sure; I'm not anything special, of course other members may have done the same thing. And no, you don't need an account for just reading; especially as a Bitcoin beginner, it's really good to just read and not clutter the forum with questions that have most certainly been answered before (here or elsewhere, like StackExchange).

That's correct. I agree with that. But most of the people in this forum think differently. For example, if they see a person registered a few months ago but know about the forum, they accuse them of being of an alt account or not a genuine newbie. What do you want to say about it?

If this is the case for you, do you think this could be for other members as well? Do you think there could be more members who did the same as you? If people can read the forum without creating an account, is it necessary to create an account? Even though I have an account, sometimes I scroll the forum without even logging in on my mobile. I write from my desktop only. I also write from phone, but that's only when I am away from home. Thanks for sharing your opinion, n0nce.

Reading is essential. You don't get a lot of knowledge from writing your own stuff; at least for me, it's a way to share my knowledge.

I've been a 'silent reader' (no account) in this and other places for a whole while before registering here, myself. I'm a big proponent of 'DYOR' and learning as much as you can from the plethora of information that's already out there, before asking a question for the thousandth time.

Would you mind pointing out where I am wrong? Would you mind correcting me, please? Your post is full of contradictions. At first, you said I was wrong and I needed to understand something. But, you have pointed our several things that match my idea. I didn't even say what I think in the OP. So, how did you know that I was wrong? If you think so, I would love to correct myself. Would you mind helping me?


Exactly. For example, when I registered to this forum, I was a newbie here but I had other forum experiences like Hacksforum and nulled. But the fact is, those forums are mostly operated to make money and people do unethical things to make money. Scammers everywhere. Even though Bitcointalk do not moderate scams, still it has one of the best system to prevent scammers.

Uhmmm... The problem isn't about you teaching others what to do or correcting them, the problem is about you trying to make requal sense, and at the same time, not being INSULTING... alot of peeps would see themselves on their high horses while creating a ridiculously- composed to thread, all in a bid to own a thread on BTT.

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This is a Bitcoin forum and I don't think the ideas in here are conserved.. there are actually so many forums that share the same ideas like we do in here - so there's every possibility that someone would know much about Bitcoin and you don't, newbie or not. All they gotta do is to be INFORMATIVE.

Sandra 🧑‍🦰

There's Nothing if a newbie corrects a high-ranking member of the forum so far that it's does not disrespect the user.
From my understanding knowledge is vast someone who is knowledgeable is a certain field can be a newbie in another field since he/she is inexperienced in the space.
About how long it takes to navigate that depend on personal ability and understanding about how to use the forum.

Op is somehow wrong and he needs to understand that. For the fact that someone registered here and decided to keep updating their account is not necessarily mean that the person actually is a newbie. He might be a newbie in the forum but not to Bitcoin or the Crypto at  large. It is important for us to know how to go about figuring who is a newbie and who is not. The writing style of someone especially when they have so much knowledge in cryptocurrency do not actually make them newbies to the forum.

 Newbies are those that newly join the Bitcointalk with confirmed registration, and they will have some particular activities and merits that will lift them from newbies to member or full member in the community before they will begin to apply for signature campaign to earn money. If I can still remember very well, they must have 10 merits before they can rank up to member and by then, they will have the knowledge of the cryptocurrency, and the rank up that will convince users in the forum that the person is no longer a newbies. I can still remember when I was a newbies with little knowledge of cryptocurrency and I found it difficult to understand some manual that related to cryptocurrency I was reading to understand cryptocurrency, but since I decided to be more active in the forum, I began to acquire cryptocurrency knowledge from the forum that help me to where I am today.

If you ask me the same question I have asked, I would say it depends on how interested the person is, depends on how much time they spend on the forum, and how much they read the topics. No on how much they have posted and how many merits they have earned. I know a lot of members who have been there for ages but they have earned only a few merits in the last five years but they know almost all the historical events. I know some members who have been active since I joined and they were not able to earn 50 merits in the last year but there are some opposites too. A lot of members earned more than 500 merits in a year.

You have asked me what is the motivation behind the question. This is just came to my mind because I saw a lot of people were accused of being alt accounts or they know too much about the forum even though they did not spend a lot of time here in the forum. My question is, how do they know that how long the person spend online each day? There was a time when I didn't post anything but I have browsed the forum all day. Do you think it is necessary to write post to get knowledge from the forum? Or just reading is well enough?

A person who has recently appeared on the forum will show himself in one form or another. If a person is inexperienced and writes some kind of post that will be sharply different from his earlier posts, it immediately arouses suspicion, doesn’t it? This is what happens most often when we see a newbie using AI.
But another newcomer, who from the first days proved himself to be an experienced person in crypto, is also very noticeable; I cannot remember a case when anyone doubted such newcomers. If we talk about an alternative account of a person with good knowledge, then observations show that either such people do not have an alternative account, or they do have one, and the person does not hide it.
Therefore, people who come to the forum as beginners but are full of knowledge are unlikely to experience discomfort in communication, while others are viewed under a large magnifying glass.
Is there a problem here?

We have no yardstick to determine who has gathered much experience and who has not before creating an account in the forum. All we know is that a newbie is someone who is new to the system and has alot to learn from those who have been there before him. So when I begin to see a post from a newbie telling the 'oldbies' (whom they were supposed to learn from) how to go about the forum activities,  it looks kind of weird to me and I'm like "who is behind this account?

This might not be wrong in all cases because we really have newbies who have gathered years of experience from other forums/Platforms before joining Bitcointalk forum. So it is best we take the message they are passing across and forget about who the message is coming from. It should only be a problem if they are giving out misleading information.

A newbie is just a name used to designate how long a user have spent in the forum by the number of his posts, activities and merit earned in the forum. Knowledge is another different aspect on its own and should not be related to the rank of the user. From the way a user communicates, you can tell how deep his/her knowledge is about what they’re talking about, they shouldn’t be shaded for making a comment and trying to teach or correct others.

Knowledge is not by rank but it is about what you’ve got upstairs in your brains. Although some newbies wants to teach others what they have no knowledge about, in such cases, they should learn instead of trying to teach. A newbie can teach and correct someone if they have the knowledge about it and we should all see it as something okay.

A newbie on the forum is just an account on the forum and nothing more. It does not show the knowledge and experience of a person. You can't judge a person's experience and knowledge by a forum account. And personally, I don't see any problem if a forum newbie corrects a user with Legendary rank. The main thing is that it should be a really useful correction and not some trolling.

If the user's forum rank still reads newbie then he or she is a newbie as far as the Bitcointalk forum is concerned. Even if the user has experience from other forums, he needs to get used to the bitcointalk forum to have at least 30 activity and one merit before he can be considered a junior member in this forum.
The time it will take for a user to remain a newbie, according to the forum, is a minimum of 30 days of activity in the forum, but it also depends on how serious the forum user is and how often the user interacts in the forum.


These users have knowledge of tech, some aspects of web development, and others; they are actually adding value to the forum because they are helping in its development, but if you look at how they ranked up, they must follow the forum pattern of activity. That is why, irrespective of the number of merits they have, they must reach the required activity for each rank before they rank up.

I agree with what you state in opening post : I registered here more than 10 years ago but when browsing/reading some specific forum sections or reading some users posts ( the ones you mentioned for example) I still feel like a newbie. 

When some people register on the forum, they begin to create different terrible and unnecessary threads. They begin to share the same ideas that have already been shared in other threads that have been created before they joined the forum. Some of these newbies (by rank) don't usually contribute any positive ideas or discussions on the forum, and that's why they end up being criticized by some high-ranking members.

In another way, and just like you have said, most people are already knowledgeable about so many things related to cryptocurrency before they join the forum, and when they do join the forum, they don't create some unnecessary threads, and they don't spam or plagerize like some other newbies who are not crypto enlightened will do.

Newbie is only a rank on the forum, and the only way to know if the person behind the account is really knowledgeable about crypto or anything is if they are able to create generic threads, share new ideas about what they know, and contribute positively to discussions.

The ranks on the forum don't determine how knowledgeable, educated, and versatile the person behind the account is.

Although some high-ranking members are very knowledgeable about programming and other technical issues, that's also how some other members (both newbies and members ranks) are also knowledgeable about wallet and Bitcoin transaction technical issues, while some others are also very knowledgeable and have experience in gambling, games, and rounds, some are good in economics discussions and some also have very good knowledge about Bitcoin mining.

On this forum, there is a lot of different knowledge that is being shared, and the forum rank is not a barrier to the level of knowledge anyone is supposed to possess. As a matter of fact, some low ranks, like Newbies, Jr., and full member ranks, can even make a very generic post that is better than that of some heroes or legendary ranks.

With all that being said, a newbie is someone who doesn't really have sound knowledge about any new thing that they just got themselves attached to, and to know who a real newbie is on the forum, just take note of the level of knowledge their idea or comment carries.

In my opinion, beginners and non-beginners depend on their proficiency in knowing a field.
The term beginner for a bitcointalk user is more appropriate if he is called a beginner according to the third point because he has been present on the forum for six months but is still a junior member and member.

This third point will also be in conflict with other people's assessments because the criteria for naming beginners based on rankings vary in their respective assessments.
Honestly, I look at a beginner not based on their high account ranking but on their ability to master a scientific field.

I guess there is a misconception of what the word newbie means; you could relate to Mk4's comment. Someone could have a lot of experience but still be considered a newbie in the forum because of the ranking system. but no matter how long one is here, it doesn't determine how much knowledge they could have about Bitcoin.

I suppose choice of word is what led to your misconception. I practically do not use the phrase to say the same thing; I prefer to say "you cannot give what you don't have," meaning you shouldn't teach what you don't know. So it's not bad for a newbie to teach what he or she knows. I have seen myself correct a couple of senior colleagues even as a newbie, what I get from that is merit because I actually know the truth, but I'm just low in rank. Right now as a member I still considered myself a newbie because I'm not well aquatinted with Bitcoin knowledge.

In a nutshell, your rank here in the forum doesn't determine how knowledgeable you are but only shows how long you have been or how active you have been participating in good conversations. The dictionary newbie is very much different from the forum newbie but still points in the same direction.

I think the word don’t teach if you’re a newbie is actually quoted or understood out of context. What I feel many people actually mean’t is if you’re sure your knowledge is limited then don’t teach. It doesn’t necessarily mean all newbies have to follow such advice. It is a bit funny when you see newbie in a thread they creates asking about such and such and later you see same member trying to teach others on that same topic because they have gotten little knowledge these are people that the warning is for.


I think navigating the forum actually depends on how active and dedicated the user is. There are lower rank members that actually know more historical information on the forum than some higher rank members because of the each accounts exposure. But still there are informations that no matter how dedicated the newbie is he will definitely not get information from except they ask or same thing occured because not everything can be researched that’s where old members actually poses more superiority because they were present then and can remember the event vividly

I don't know, but I don't even know if that really matters. Why do you think it's important to (quickly?) learn about forum events and historical facts? I'm interested to hear the motivation behind the question. I'd say let everyone discover the forum at their own pace..

I myself have no problem if a newbie corrects my arguments or others, about other general topic issues, such as bitcoin, economics, politics, trading, altcoins and so on which may be behind him is a person who does have previous abilities before entering the forum, and I think knowledge does not have a limit on rank on the forum, I myself feel I don't have much knowledge.

But I don't tolerate if a newbie for one month already knows the ins and outs of the forum and problems, or plays on the reputation board, a forum that not just anyone can easily find out, let alone someone who has just joined for one month.

May I know what is the reason for that thinking? Do you think people with less experience in this forum are unable to read and write or what? Why do you think people who earn quick merits are alt accounts? What about the people I mentioned in the OP? I understand they have some extra ordinary skills, which is why they have earned many merits. But don't you think a person could have experience in other forums and know these things works? Don't you think people with less experience in this forum has a good writing capabilities?

I forgot another important thing which I mentioned in the title but didn't write in the OP.
How long it should take for a newbie to navigate the forum? Given the forum boards/sub boards has well detailed description. How long it should take for a newbie to know some historical events? For example, How long it should take for a newbie to know that satoshi is inactive, Lauda is not here anymore, TECHSHARE died, light_warrior died, Ratimov's fall down and some other things (Not everything at once).

Newbies with unique knowledge about crypto and advanced computer-related knowledge are only newbies for a while because when they start to post to share their knowledge, lots of users will appreciate it and for a few months, they will gonna be considered once the main characters in the community despite of their late participations in the forum. Unlike others who are not contributing but only reading and gathering some knowledge, these users are more popular, and most likely their opinions are considered strong and trusted. For me, this community suffice for all that I need to know about crypto-related matters because the users are quick to respond whenever we want to know something.

Exactly.

Now imagine if you started your forum adventure with countless "Newbies, this is what you have to do to rank up" or any of the other similar generic crap that we see on B&O bord, how would people react? Someone would call you out for being fake newbie because that's exactly what fake newbie do and then some would complain that bitcointalk is a hostile place while in fact people are just fed up with it.

I agree; it's just a matter of attitude. I had basically nothing but positive interactions here, after first registering on this forum, even though I was a 'Newbie' and posted guides & advice about various technical aspects of Bitcoin.

If you behave like a respectful adult person should, I think people will appreciate your posts, no matter your rank. So I don't agree with below quote, at all.

I think the rank system is good the way it is; personally had 0 issues with it honestly. A minor one was that I started getting invites for signature campaigns, but didn't have the space for it yet. Although I suspect I'm in the minority with this issue, and the manager kindly created a custom signature that fit in the space I had.

First off: remember that "newbie" is an actual word that means "an inexperienced newcomer to a particular activity."(source:Google)

So if someone said "don't teach others when you are a newbie", there's a good chance that the person is actually describing the dictionary term of newbie, not necessarily the Bitcointalk rank. Depends on who is saying it, of course.

I have nothing against newbie teaching me about crypto (or almost anything else for that matter)  related stuff as there are many knowledgeable people around and I am first to admit that my technical knowledge is quite limited, but when I see a newbie telling other newbies how to behave on bitcointalk and what to do/what not do to on the forum, my bullshit alarm immediately goes on.

For example, before coming to bitcointalk I had almost 20 years experience on other forums and I didn't even think about giving other people advices on what to do around here right after I created the account and I am sure that no legit newbioe would do that.

If you're new in cryptocurrency and just join the forum, you're the type of newbie to be considered a newbie indeed because you're fresh and just starting, the more you're active on the forum, then you becomes more used to learning bitcoin a d getting used to the forum, then you will continue to experience growth in such a way that will influence the way you post from how you first started, also increasing in ranks is another thing to consider that you're actually progressing in growth.


That may not have to be a newbie, it may be that he doesn't have time to get online due to his busy schedules or way of life and uses bitcoin but having no time for the forum.


This one is probably to be an alt account.


Most likely bounty hunters, they are sometimes alts, spammers or those that post less of a quality post.

LoyceV has one topic about Bitcoin Timelock too.

Using Locktime for inheritance planning, backups or gifts.

Just like yesterday but that topic is already 5 years old.

In addition, Bitcointalk articles and threads are often used as references on many websites and tweets. For example, I was searching about the Bitcoin timelock feature and how it works, and I found a thread where the writer wrote a great tutorial and mentioned that it is just a detailed version of TryNinja's post. https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@daan/how-to-create-time-locked-transactions-with-bitcoin-free-bitcoins-inside I felt proud when I saw that the Bitcointalk post was referenced. Often I see people tweet historical events and give Bitcointalk links as references. That's where new users come to this forum. Sometimes, I see a new user registered just to write one reply and then they never come back to this forum. But they get a couple of merits for their post. They were a newbie to this forum. But, they are not newbie on some specific field.

I would like to classify them with two main criteria.

• Member rank.
• Knowledge.

If they have great knowledge, their newbie rank is only rank and they can rank up to any high rank if they spend time on the forum, make enough posts. Because with those knowledgeable newbie members, they can easily earn many merit.

Without great knowledge, you only can look at a member and judge bases on earned merit and forum rank that surely reflect their low knowledge level.

Me I'm always of the same opinion that not everyone who registers an account today is completely a newbie. The title tag can be a newbie, but the knowledge is far above that, and there is more to be learned from them than what we can even offer to some of those newbies by forum rank. Let's take the two members that you mentioned, for example.
 
In the aspect of newbies stopping teaching newbies when you need to learn, I have come across threads where newbies provided detailed information about how to use a particular thing. If I could remember correctly, it should have been some time last year. In that thread, it was educative, and if I'm not mistaken, it was just the OP's second post to the forum, but the knowledge and tips shared were helpful in situations like that. I encourage such users.
 
But in a situation where a member just registered and opened an account a few weeks or months ago without having any technical knowledge anywhere or even knowing about the forum very well, and the newbie starts making misleading tutorials about things that the OP should even be able to learn, in such a case where you see newbies who try to correct and other newbies who end up making mistakes because they don't have full knowledge of the information they are trying to pass on, these are the types of users who are being advised to learn more rather than trying to teach what they still need to learn.

In my view, someone's actions on their account can say more than their rank. I've noticed many newly registered accounts with smart individuals behind them. Sometimes, these people earn over 100 merits in just one post or upon creating their first post. I see this as a significant achievement for many of us. Even if their ranks are low, there are individuals here with more experience than higher-ranked members. Unfortunately, due to discrimination, as you mentioned, they tend to hide and reduce their presence.

This forum is a place where anyone can share their knowledge and experience in their respective areas of expertise. They shouldn't let other members look down on them. A rank doesn't define a person, so we should control ourselves and avoid using violent or discouraging words on others just because their ranks are very low. They might be newbies, but their ideas are very experienced.

Well said, Besides, I didn't even know about these things until now.

I think this is a scary part that most people don't want to admit. Ideally, newbies are all categorized as learners just because they are new to the forum. Even if newbies have great experience in the crypto space, some people tend to look down on them. I stand to be corrected, but I have also noticed that newbies' ideas or opinions sometimes face altercation, unlike those of regular ranked members. I am saying all this from the experience I once had and maybe still facing. There won't be any change soon, we should just move on with it.

I don't know if this is the proper section to post it. I feel like MetaBoard will be a good fit for this topic. But, let's begin.

My question is: who is a newbie and how long they should be considered as a newbie?
I would love to give you some options and examples.

First one: A user with a very old registration date but made only a couple of posts, but did not earn merit to rank up and his login time is around 10 hours or so.

Second one: A user who registered two months ago and spent 7 days login time and earned around 250 merits in the last 60 days and made 500 posts.

Third one: A user who has been there for six months and spent 25 days login time but made only a hundred posts but his rank is member or Jr. member.

You should keep in mind that a user's rank is a newbie here, but maybe he was a member of another forum like hacks forum, craked forum, or nulled forum. Maybe they have dip knowledge of coding or other sectors. Now, who should be considered a newbie, and how long would you consider him as a newbie and why?

I often see people posts like don't teach others when you are a newbie. This is an absurd word in my dictionary. People like Powerglove or n0nce has far more better knowledge than some legendary members who has earned two thousands merits. So, what is wrong if a newbie try to correct you?