I'm looking to learn and network.

Hi, LostApostle. Since you're not asking about "Game Design" but rather about how to use GameDev.net, your question is being moved to The Lounge. Our industry is game development (not game design, which is a specialty within game development). What exactly is it you want to learn? Programming? Art? A job/career? When you have a specific question, look at the forum categories (click Forums at left, then click Categories) and then post your question in the appropriate forum. You'll get good answers if you ask good questions. Oh, and welcome.