It is necessary as a newbie to be very active in the Bitcoin discussion board so as your knowledge about crypto currencies' best coin and number one coin, Bitcoin, will grow enough to accommodate the knowledge of other coins, alongside the best crypto practices and procedures to follow for the ultimate benefits.
As a newcomer in Bitcoin, being active in the Bitcoin discussion board might not teach you what you need to understand about Bitcoin. Here is mainly for discussion, you might not have or see someone who will be patient enough to explain bitcoin for you in the Bitcoin discussion board. Many people will just assume that you are also an expert in Bitcoin or at least knowledgeable about bitcoin before you will join bitcoin discussion. So it is necessary that you make more steps outside the forum to learn about Bitcoin in details such that when you join the conversation you will not lag behind or the conversation will not sound foreign or boring to you because of your inability comprehend bitcoin.
But if you want to depend much on this forum for your bitcoin learning, it will be fine if you go back to the older threads of the forum.