As of now, you're rank is no longer newbie because coupable sent you a merit which you'll automatically got 0.5 smerit once you receive a merit again then you'll have 1 smerit and you can send merit to anyone who you think are deserving to received your merit. Most post that got merited and helpful ones and contributed a lot to the forum and help lots of people regarding the issue they have while some are guides in helping you learn what to do about a certain things.