Level 0

If there were a Level 0 in E2's Voting/Experience System, it would be somewhat like the situation new Advogato users are in. On Advogato, a new user starts out as an Observer, unable to write stories or comment on stories. (I could be wrong about the comment part; the system may simply hide Observer comments from Guest User. /msg me if you know the correct answer.) A new user must demonstrate her worth by writing diary entries and adding information about projects she has worked on before other users can certify her to level 1: Apprentice.

If E2 followed this system, a Level 0 noder would have to get certified to Level 1 by another noder before he can even create a writeup outside the daylogs. This would tie in with the mentor system somehow; a mentor could review samples of writing in a user's E2 Scratch Pad to see if the new user had promise.

In Dungeons and Dragons, the lowest available level of spell for Bards, Clerics, Druids, Sorcerers and Wizards. Known as cantrips by arcane spellcasters (Bard, Sorcerer and Wizard), or orisons for divine spellcasters (Cleric and Druid), level 0 spells are the weakest and most simple kinds of magic available.

You won't find the likes of lightning bolt, fireball or even mage armor as level 0 spells - Cantrips and orisons are very limited in their power. Ray of frost, for example, deals a pathetic 1d3 points of damage - less than a successful hit with a mundane arrow. The cleric's cure minor wounds heals only a single point of damage.

Level 0 magic can be all but useless at later levels. Still, their minor effects can occasionally come in handy - temporarily changing an item's colour, creating an illusory sound as a distraction or healing up that wound from the caltrop you stepped on earlier.