# How long is the "noob" phase for new SDMB users? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 6, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505 "2011-06-06T15:24:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/1 "2011-06-06T15:24:45Z")
How long does it take for new users to get past the “noob” stage? Feel free to add any qualifiers you like. (I suggest “on average”, “there’s more than one stage” and “some people never do”.) ---
**Author:** ![Hennessy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hennessy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hennessy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/2 "2011-06-06T15:32:02Z")
As long as it takes to understand this message board… This really isn’t a bash the noobs message board. Perhaps one month after their join date ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/3 "2011-06-06T15:35:58Z")
> [@Lestrade](#): > > In [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13883379&postcount=23) **C K Dexter Haven** excused **Wheelz** ’s behavior, saying, “You’ve only just joined, so I’m assuming ignorance as an excuse.” That’s a kind sentiment, but **Wheelz** joined in 2008. You misread the post. **Dex’s** remark was directed at **samjones** , who joined a month ago, not at **Wheelz**. Don’t worry, it’s a typical newbie mistake.😉 To give a serious answer, as a practical matter as a moderator I would assume that anybody who has been around for more than a couple of months should be familiar with the more important rules, such as no insults outside the Pit. I will often cut a newbie some slack and give them a mod note instead of a warning for a first offense; I am less inclined to do so if someone has been around a while. This said, there are certain members who have been around for many years who still haven’t grasped some of the basic rules, such as which forum certain topics go in.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/4 "2011-06-06T15:44:54Z")
Just out of curiosity, what behavior of mine did you think was being excused? ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/5 "2011-06-06T15:54:40Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Just out of curiosity, what behavior of mine did you think was being excused? **samjones** misquoted you and I attributed the mistake to you. I almost got away with it, damn. ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/6 "2011-06-06T15:59:34Z")
Hang on, I edited my post 6 minutes before you responded, **Colibri**. Are you using your secret mod powers to make me look like I have no idea what I’m doing? That’s clearly modular trolling, reported. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/7 "2011-06-06T16:04:11Z")
> [@Lestrade](#): > > **samjones** misquoted you and I attributed the mistake to you. I almost got away with it, damn. No worries. For the record, I did use the term “a gay” to illustrate the question I was asking, and don’t normally say that. (I think that was fairly evident.) **samjones** changed it to something much more ignorant (IMO), and anyway changing quotes for any reason is against the rules, so I reported it. However, even if I _had_ said what sam quoted me as saying, it would not have been a rules violation. Would it? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/8 "2011-06-06T16:31:43Z")
> [@Lestrade](#): > > Hang on, I edited my post 6 minutes before you responded, **Colibri**. Are you using your secret mod powers to make me look like I have no idea what I’m doing? That’s clearly modular trolling, reported. I must have quoted your post before you edited it, but didn’t post my reply for several minutes after. I think this would be the result for any poster, not just a mod. Don’t worry, if I wanted to use my mod powers to make you look foolish, I would have edited your post to include something about your squid fetish. ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/9 "2011-06-06T16:42:15Z")
Squid fetish? Do you see “Charter Member” under my name? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/10 "2011-06-06T21:22:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I must have quoted your post before you edited it, but didn’t post my reply for several minutes after. I think this would be the result for any poster, not just a mod. Yip. I’ve had it happen to me. Fortunately, the guy was still within the edit time, and edited his post to say , “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/11 "2011-06-06T21:24:08Z")
Six months or a thousand posts, whichever comes first. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/12 "2011-06-06T21:31:48Z")
When noob feathers are replaced by a thick hide. Then you’re no longer a noob. ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/13 "2011-06-07T00:05:04Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Six months or a thousand posts, whichever comes first. At the risk of dragging this back on track, that sounds about right. I think that the incubation period is extended by the fact that some posters seem to be allowed to play by different rules. I know that (de jure) it’s a case of them knowing exactly how far they can bend the rules. Some days it just takes better eyes than mine to see that the rules aren’t bent around some folks. In any event, as long as **Colibri** keeps his time-traveling cephalopods to himself we should be good. **Wheelz,** I can’t imagine how it would have been a clear rule violation. Your meaning and intentions were clear. No worries. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/14 "2011-06-07T01:23:56Z")
> [@](#): > > such as which forum certain topics go in Let’s be honest, that’s the sort of knowledge you have to born with, you cannot acquire it!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/15 "2011-06-07T01:46:53Z")
Anyone who joined since 1999. October, 1999, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-the-noob-phase-for-new-sdmb-users/584505/16 "2011-06-07T03:44:00Z")
> [@Lestrade](#): > > Squid fetish? Do you see “Charter Member” under my name? We all know you want to be one of us.