"n00b" is a stupid word, "newb" is also a stupid word.

I'd say if you don't act like a dumb!@# then your status is supressed. It's a cumulative respect issue, it builds up over time. There isn't a specific point when someone can shed free of their "n00b" status.

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“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
~Charles Darwin