Ok. I guess back then it was fun being a newbie since you had access to all the stuff and other benefits higher ranking members were privy to, eh? Maybe the user didn't have this privilege and had to go through the pipes like everyone else.
I registered here after the Enhanced newbie restrictions IIRC.
There also was really no privilege. Being able to wear a signature (with no links allowed) without any merits earned is not a privilege, except you only came here to spam the forum and even in the grand scheme of signature campaigns, you'll get paid peanuts compared to higher ranking members.
The only benefit that I can losely lay my hands-on is that it was easier to earn merits then compared to now for newbies. This is my perception, I think the overall merits being sent around have dropped significantly.
I also registered here after the Enhanced newbie restrictions IIRC.