RIU Newb Help!!

I figured I would do this here, to prevent trolling. I have been using RIU for reference for many long times.. Though I have just created an account recently (in March), I was hoping to gain some friends, as well as people who would like to share ideas on anything.
What I need help with is gaining Rep points and would like somebody to explain to me how the "ranking" system works? I am now "Learning How To Roll", I know that the amt. of posts does not effect this because I've seen people with 1000's of posts who were the same 'level' as me. I'm really not worried about it but I am very curios as to how it works or what the green bar under each username represents? I will give you +REP, to ANYBODY who can give me a little insight or help me get to know the place (RIU) a little better.
I am a veteran grower (hydro, soil, Sog, SCRoG, indoor, outdoor, organics, chem, etc. 8+ years) from the Eastern United States, near KY. So I have a lot to offer and much knowledge to share & hopefully I can find a few cool cats that can help me as well. Thanks a lot guys (and much respect to anyone who read this entire post about me not having any "grow-buddies."

What should I do to help move up in the RIU world? I have a lot that I can teach all sorts of growers, as well as plenty to learn. Friendly people please holla.

,
Berny

P.s. I do realize that my signature is silly, but everybody should have one... just in case.

...basically, how do I fill up my green bar? I really like RIU and I will NOT be going back to any of my former grow forums. They just aren't as organized as rollitup.

by not using cornea-melting font colors...................

Participation is key. even some of our trolls have high scorecards.

Just be yourself, the rest will come.

you get rep points from other people. they have to like what you are saying. start responding and if its good you will get there. im not to far from you aand a little southern hospitality goes a long way.

gaining rep shouldnt be a goal. its SUPPOSED to show who MIGHT be more knowledgable but dont let it fool you. plenty of idiots here with lots of rep

if your on here long enough you'll get plenty of rep dont worry. people will rep you for just about anything lol

scroglodyte said:

by not using cornea-melting font colors...................

Click to expand...

Hahaha, I'm not sure how that happened. I don't think I did that on purpose my bad