I think every newbie should have a kind of startup merit, maybe send able or personal or even both so as to navigate in this space.
You don't need merit to navigate through the forum my friend, all you need is your data connecting and your mobile phone or a laptop. Merit is awarded to quality post based on what a merit patron deemed fit to be a quality post for him or her. Merit is never what can make you navigate the forum, look beyond that and if you try and learn and be productive on the forum, you will get the merit.