Every person which register on this forum is starting from 0 and they earn merits so newbie is the same like everyone at the beggining, you need to be patient.
Not exactly true those that registered before the merit system was implemented started at a generic number. Members = 10, Full Member = 100, Sr. Members = 250, Hero members 500, and finally Legendary Members = 1000. Of course, you should be aware of this since you registered in 2013, and started off with 250 merit.
Those who register from now on start on 0.