Noob Etiquette 101
Who am I?
I’m a perpetual noob and lurker. I stumbled into this as a hobby. I’m an IT professional but by no means am I a security professional. But I like to learn, I’ve done some neat stuff, and learned a lot.
I’ve also embarrassed myself in front of people I respected, said or done the wrong things, and made a lot of mistakes. So hopefully that qualifies me to talk to you all a little about how to be a proper noob.
How to noob –
1) Show respect. First, last, middle and always. If you’re a prick, you’re going to get shut out real fast. You may not believe first starting out how many doors your character will open for you, but it can close them just as easily. Just don’t be a jackass. The relationships you establish can be very rewarding on personal and professional levels, and your reputation follows you. The internet is forever, but the infosec community is super double forever.
2) Learn. Keep learning. Build your wheelhouse, get real good at something. Or lots of things. Just go do stuff. The amount of information at your fingertips is overwhelming, so just jump into a subject. If it’s not for you, move on, but at least you now have some understanding of the subject.
3) Help others learn. You know something others in the community don’t. Your perspective is valid. Don’t get the idea that just because you’re just starting doesn’t mean you don’t have something to say. Ask questions, get involved in conversations, do things. When others ask a question of you, take the time to answer it. This is a give and get situation. Others make their research, scripts, and time available to you. Return the favor to someone else if you can.
4) Did I say respect? Because I’m going to say it again. The speaker you watched give that talk, the author of that popular book, the podcaster you like? They all owe you NOTHING. Seriously. They aren’t obligated to answer your questions, they don’t have to follow you on twitter, they don’t have to be your mentor, nothing. But more often than not, they will. They will answer your questions, they will do their best to help you on your way. Why? Because someone did it for them. Because they want to give back. Because they have a few free minutes to expand on a subject. Each of them will give a different answer, and I don’t want to put words in their mouths. 99 out of 100 interactions I’ve had with people whose work I wanted to learn more about has been fruitful for me, and I’m grateful for each and every one of them.
5) Don’t brag. This is one I’ve been guilty of. I thought I was hot shit for some of my accomplishments, and I’m not. Be proud of what you’ve done, what you’ve learned, and whatever else you want to, but leave the ego at the door. Oneupsmanship gets old fast. Try to be humble. You’re not a Rockstar.
6) Last, because I’m tired and would like to go fall asleep in my recliner, have fun. Approach people, say hello. If you enjoyed someone’s work, say so. Just be decent, OK? Take a step back and realize that people have jobs, families, friends, debt, hobbies, pets, problems, victories, and just general people stuff going on. The less headaches we all have the better. Squash fights, don’t start drama, learn to be the bigger person and walk away. If you’re wrong, apologize. If you’re right and it’s really not a big deal, let it go. Just…be excellent to each other so I can go back to reading this thing about DNS, k?

