The default new user => basic user rules according to this are:
If a user sticks around long enough to read a bit, Discourse now trusts them as a basic user.
They can get to trust level 1 by…
- entering at least 5 topics
- reading at least 50 posts
- spend a total of 15 minutes reading posts
[…]
Users at trust level 1 can…
- use all core Discourse functions
- have all new user restrictions removed
BoingBoing may have different settings, but I think if you just wander around a bit you will stop being a “new” user.