MY FIRST POINT OF REFERENCE.

[Bigjoe33]

Many of us in this forum were introduced to the forum by somebody you know who has attained some level of experience and rank in the forum while some persons who loves to become a bitcoiner heard about it and made some research and decided to be part of the forum.
Which ever way you became a part of the community, I think consulting or referencing back to the source that brought you onboard will be better and do you a lot of good.

If you are still having problems of- where and where can I read to seek for information, what does the forum stands for in general, why am I not been merited or ranked up with all my activities?, confused at a point due to lack of understanding about the forum, etc., instead of rushing to create a new thread which will be raising questions on how to solve these problems, I think its better you consult or reference back to..
1. The person who introduced you to the forum. Yea! Am sure he or she has alot of information for you from their wealth of experience that will guide you, tell you what to do or things to read which will help in solving those little problems instead of creating threads and repeating questions that has been asked and answered previously.
2. For those who came in themselves after making proper research, I think consulting that same search engine  and asking few questions on Google or any of your choice for more clearity will provide you few answers to improve your understanding and knowledge about the whole thing.
3. Another most important is Opening post that provides similar if not exact answers to any of the solutions you seek, and then, reading and paying attention to the contributions of high ranked members due to their wealth of knowledge which will help alot. This infact, should be done daily.

I must say that within the months of my stay here, these few points of reference has been my help and source of understanding and clarity and I also hope it helps someone else too.
To other ranked up members, you can also share the source of your clarity, familiarity and growth in the forum so to further help newbies or struggling members of the forum..

[Richbased]

It does not matter who introduce you or how you found the forum, but your determination to learn and get acquainted with the discussions that you are familiar with and also make quality contribution to the forum. If anyone introduced you to the forum, they don't owe you anything, it is left for you to explore by yourself and it doesn't mean they will have to monitor your activity or guide you all the time even though it might be an extra advantage but the experience you get by yourself is more dependable than what anyone that introduce you to the forum will tell you.

Ever since i joined this forum, my growth has always been by my own personal efforts by constant learning and making quality posts so i don't attribute my success to anyone regardless that i regard and respect the source for which i was introduced into the forum. The best knowledge you can get is the one you found out by yourself and not the one you are being told.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Your reference cannot help you when you don't help yourself, that is even if you had any reference that introduced you to Bitcointalk, there is every opportunity for each one of us to learn being a newbie to this forum or Bitcoin, while every other things should be secondary aside the primary aim of discussing about bitcoin.

Now guess what, if you're the type that likes reading and learning new things, here's an avenue for you, with time, if you can show yourself approved, you may even know more better than the same reference that brought you in, but some of us don't know this and the key is by learning.

[Nwada001]

Some people might have those who brought them here, but that does not mean that they know everything about the forum. They might just have minimal knowledge. If you pay attention, you can be the one to share tips with them.

Being first or referring someone to a place doesn't mean the person will know it all. You can always run back here, ask your question, and people will render help to you.

There is no harm in asking for clarification; it must not be from who brought you here. Over the years, I myself have gained more knowledge and rank than who brought me here; everything is about devotion.

[SatoPrincess]

I think majority of the newbies who joined the forum from 2020 till date were introduced by a member of the forum. It may happen that people still randomly stumble upon the forum by accident, IMO it doesn’t matter if you’re brought here by someone, you have to make your own way for yourself. The forum search engine and other tools like ninjastic space and bpip are available for everyone to use.

[qwertyup23]

If you are still having problems of- where and where can I read to seek for information, what does the forum stands for in general, why am I not been merited or ranked up with all my activities?,

The merit system was introduced in order to have a point-system wherein a person can proceed to rank-up upon receiving merits. The catch is, you can only send sMerits whenever you receive merit by other members as well.

People can merit any thread depending on what they feel like in general. If they think that a certain thread/comment deserves a merit due to being educational, helpful, funny, or anything, then they can reward it to a certain post.

I must say that within the months of my stay here, these few points of reference has been my help and source of understanding and clarity and I also hope it helps someone else too.
To other ranked up members, you can also share the source of your clarity, familiarity and growth in the forum so to further help newbies or struggling members of the forum..

What I can share with others, it is the perspective that you develop throughout your journey here.

Investing cryptocurrency is not a race but more of a journey. Do not chase winnings; let knowledge be your best investment as this will guide your way towards a successful investment career.

[Ronsbit]

There is no harm in asking a question here. As a matter of fact, many people you see here, including the people who referred you here, also asked questions just like you and were attended to by reputable and knowledgeable people when they were newcomers, and that was how they grew to gain knowledge about the platform and bitcoin. Putting in efforts to know things yourself would give you a good stand to know more because you have shown a commitment to learn.  I have learnt a lot on my own, coupled with the little I was taught about the platform, because I developed the desire to know more about this platform, and it has helped me stay here. It's just all about your devotion to learn and do what is right so you could get mor knowledge.

[dzungmobile]

Many of us in this forum were introduced to the forum by somebody you know who has attained some level of experience and rank in the forum while some persons who loves to become a bitcoiner heard about it and made some research and decided to be part of the forum.
Which ever way you became a part of the community, I think consulting or referencing back to the source that brought you onboard will be better and do you a lot of good.

Who introduced you can have some basic guides for you.

To other ranked up members, you can also share the source of your clarity, familiarity and growth in the forum so to further help newbies or struggling members of the forum..

In the forum, after you visit and are able to explore the Beginners & Help board, you can see this.
Newbies - Read before posting that is a very big guide thread because it has most basic information for newbies and also links to other educational topics for newbies.

Three more topics to know for newbies.
Welcome message.
[Mega resources for newbies] Check here, find most of your need, before asking.
[Guide] Searching effectively.

[Bigjoe33]

Some people might have those who brought them here, but that does not mean that they know everything about the forum. They might just have minimal knowledge. If you pay attention, you can be the one to share tips with them.

Being first or referring someone to a place doesn't mean the person will know it all. You can always run back here, ask your question, and people will render help to you.

There is no harm in asking for clarification; it must not be from who brought you here. Over the years, I myself have gained more knowledge and rank than who brought me here; everything is about devotion.

Yea! You are actually correct. One can still come in and gather much more needed knowledge than the source that brought them in. It all depends on your zeal to learn and grow. After all, over taking is always allowed in life. For the time I have been here, I have just realised that reading and learning is the principal thing. Acquiring this much needed knowledge can only come through going through post I'm different boards and gathering facts about the forum from the experience of other users who might have gained higher grounds than you.

I sighted a bit of it in my third point, that paying attention to ranked up members here in the forum and going through their posts or comments can actually build one up and grow the level of knowledge one has. Whichever way it is, your points are valid and it well noted.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Based on your appearance on the OP forum, your right move was that you told about yourself in your local section. It is always easier and better to understand how to navigate the forum by communicating with people close to you, those who can guide and warn against possible mistakes that newcomers can make out of ignorance. In addition, members of the locale will also help you decide on the direction that is more interesting for you to read and where to participate since they better understand what will be a higher priority for you.

[Die_empty]

I think majority of the newbies who joined the forum from 2020 till date were introduced by a member of the forum. It may happen that people still randomly stumble upon the forum by accident, IMO it doesn’t matter if you’re brought here by someone, you have to make your own way for yourself. The forum search engine and other tools like ninjastic space and bpip are available for everyone to use.

Someone introduced me to the forum, but I learned most things by myself. I spent my early days on the forum reading rather than making posts. I had to read the posts of some of the members I respected and my understanding grew. The problem most newbies have is the unwillingness to learn. You can always seek clarifications from the person who introduced you but you have to also do your own research. I have read stories of the members who were introduced to only the bounty section of the forum, but then had to navigate to other sections.

[Majestic-milf]

 You may have a point but then again if you make it feel like the person who introduced you to the forum should be the one to always guide you and show you the ropes it will only make you lazy and heavily dependent on that person. I also agree with the school of thought that it's not every one who has achieved a high rank and also invited you to this place that has all the knowledge. I mean I can say I learned a thing or two from the person I introduced. It's just that you have the advantage of knowing a few more things about this place than the one who has not.
 Humans are prone to making mistakes and since no man is above learning something new irrespective of how long or how much of an experience they have in a particular field, they can also learn new things.

[Pi-network314159]

Well op I understand your pain we all have experienced it, at first when someone introduce you and you see the person always earning merit than you, you think there is more to why he earned more than you or perhaps there is something he is hiding about the forum which he is not hiding anything. With time you understand why some people earn more merit than the others. Just keep your head straight and whatch what others are doing and forget about the person that brought you here or not. It might interest you that one quality post of yours may attract tones of merit. All i can just say is that you should keep on pushing and never relent otherwise you will give up too quick. Just develop thick skin and do as if no one introduce you and learn all you got to learn here and outside, and see the second version of yourself.

[Tmoonz]

Your points of reference and or observations are indeed a nice one and it shows that you have a good head up which of course and surely will tremendously help members having various challenges navigating the forum and making progress. But however one still needs all that resilience and perseverance to scale through, there must a burning desire for unsatisfied knowledge and acquaintance in light of your curiosity as well as validation. You have made reasonable points @op and keeping to the terms you listed and that of my candid hints one can  definitely exceptionally and firmly grow in the forum.

[lizarder]

I must say that within the months of my stay here, these few points of reference has been my help and source of understanding and clarity and I also hope it helps someone else too.
To other ranked up members, you can also share the source of your clarity, familiarity and growth in the forum so to further help newbies or struggling members of the forum..

Everyone has an equal opportunity to be on the forum and they can learn to follow the steps of others to achieve success. The forum is discussion based and what is really needed is knowledge so that when a newbie tries to get involved in a discussion they understand what is being discussed. There are many sources and references that can be followed as long as they do not abuse the forum rules and at some point we will grow if we are willing to learn.

It does not matter who introduces us to the forum and how we can follow their steps of success. This is an online forum that can be accessed by anyone but there are limitations that may not be violated because the forum has rules that need to be followed by anyone.

[Abu-Naim]

I must say that within the months of my stay here, these few points of reference has been my help and source of understanding and clarity and I also hope it helps someone else too.
To other ranked up members, you can also share the source of your clarity, familiarity and growth in the forum so to further help newbies or struggling members of the forum..

Just like any other thing, this forum is not exceptional, you need to do your research before you know details about the forum because just like school, you need to learn before you understand how things work, and in cryptocurrency space, it is very complicated that’s why you need to learn through various due process before you get it right.

This forum is very simple to understand, if the person who introduced you to the forum has explained it for you proper, he/she is expected to have tell you all you need to know about the forum, he/she will guide towards your goal in the forum because everyone do join this forum for a purpose.

The forum search is available for you to ask questions on what you will want to learn, and you can also ask questions in the forum and you will get the right information you need.

[Awaklara]

Which ever way you became a part of the community, I think consulting or referencing back to the source that brought you onboard will be better and do you a lot of good.

What if the person who brought us or introduced the forum to us ends up doing the wrong practice in the forum? Such as a cheating campaign with many accounts owned. I am sure, as a person who was introduced to the forum, you must have some initial knowledge from the person who brought you to the forum. Especially those who introduced the forum to you as a place where you can make money. There is also a possibility that you will do the same practice as the person who brought you to the forum.

When you experience some difficulties and try to understand what cannot be understood easily, it would be good if you ask for advice from others. There must be new information that you will receive. If you know something bad about the person who introduced the forum to you, you should never follow it. Everyone who is mature enough should know what is good to do and what is better to ignore.

[Botnake]

Personally , I was introduced in the forum by someone who’s a close friend of mine. And of course, before I entered the forum, I asked him several questions about this and that way back then. However, if you want to educate yourself and learn effectively in the forum, you don’t have to rely from others to do it for you. Do your own diligence instead to make your stay in the forum worthy and valuable. Explore every board in the forum and read a lot. And always find time to make a research, that’s the most effective way to learn all by yourself.

Do not make the other person become responsible to make you learn. But learn on yourself instead and through the different contributions in the forum made by your co-members.

[btcltcdigger]

I don't see how anyone can "struggle" with a forum, as you so nicely put it. Forum is a place where people share ideas and information. The only people that might struggle with that are illiterate or blind people.
Having said that, the only valuble thing this forum has to offer to new people is mining tips and troubleshooting. Rest is pretty much common knowledge

[Distinctin]

I think we all have different preferences to learn. If you are comfortable and have been so productive with what you’re doing and your friend has never seen it as a hassle, then there’s no reason to stop it. But as per my own point of view, I come here to learn so I’ll max my effort to acquire reliable knowledge from the forum itself and even outside the forum for other legit sources. That way, I can learn from the different forum members, and I can also educate them in return and add to their existing knowledge.