The words veteran and noob get bandied about a lot in Eve. I would counsel you to use the latter as little as possible, as to anyone past their first month or so it is the worst insult there is. No-one likes to think of themself as a noob. However the question must be asked; what makes a veteran? When do you have the right to start dispelling advice?

Well the first thing that should be said is that Eve is huge. Never mind the size of the galaxy, the amount of detail in the mechanics of it and their interaction is simply staggering. Whilst there are some established 'best ways' to do things it is always possible to think outside the box and come up with some viable and effective way to do whatever it is you want. Be careful of reinventing the wheel, though.

The thing to beware of most is anyone who thinks they have it all sewn up. You can see them all over; people who think their way is the only way. Ask their advice but never take it as gospel (and that includes this blog). There are so many reasons to argue for veteran status; character age, time spent online, time spent in combat, time spent in PVP, ISK earnt, out of game research done, skillpoints attained... The list goes on and on. Equally each of those has an argument against it. Someone could start a character now and only log in to change skills once a week for five years; Are they a veteran? Skillpoints grow harder and harder to attain; level 5 in any skill takes longer than levels 1-4 combined for around a quarter of the advantage. We could argue forever about which is more important.

Ultimately if you have an answer to give someone, then don't be afraid to offer it, whether you have been in the game five minutes or five years. But the second you think you know it all...

Then there is a word for what you are. And it isn't veteran.