HI, I'm messuped, I'm 18 years old and I love mods.
Hope i can be a productive member of the VGU community  :hellobig: 

Greeting messuped.
Welcome to VGU. You'll find out soon enough the members of this site are very friendly, and if you come across some questions, just ask away and you'll get a lot of advices or answers from the skillful members here. Feel free to chat with others and enjoy your time here.

Thanks
I do have a few questions if you wouldn't mind answering me.

1. How do these member groups work? Are they fidelity-based? If so, cool way to keep a friendly community   

2. How do I actually download the mods? I've seen some really AWESOME mods (Halo 4 Weapons Pack, FNVZ), but I have no idea how

The member groups are different based on your activities here.
Like 1 post, then you are in Initiate group. 30 posts then you are in Survivor group, and so on. And these are normal groups. But there are also special groups such as Veteran group. Special groups require some conditions to join in.

As for mods, there are two different mods archives. Public releases means you can download directly, and VGU Mod Releases require some restriction like you can access to this archive as long as you are in one of the special groups

Hope these answers might help.

How can I join one of these special groups?
I came across this mod community (which I might add is looking so much cooler and friendly than nexus) because i was looking for a halo overhaul, which i did find a great one by Hopper31 and it seems to be in this special group download area.

Thank you very much

A Gnome's Guide to Getting Promoted:

1. Post meaningfully. For example, tell us WHY you like something, rather than just saying 'cool'.

2. Be helpful. If you see someone having a problem and think "hey that happened to me too" then chime in with any ideas for solutions you might have. If you see someone asking for recommendations for cool mods, and you know some, toss em' out there.

3. Respect the rules of the topics. Some topics, like 'Fallout Screenshots III' have specific rules. For instance that screenshot topic requires you to post a screenshot of your own if you choose to comment on someone else's. Don't just pop in and say 'COOL SCREEN BRO!' and then pop out. Give us a screen of yours to potentially discuss as well.

4. Don't double post. That is frowned upon around here. If you post, and then feel the need to immediately add something, just edit the first post.

5. In sort of a continuation of tip 1, don't post 1-2 word 'quicky' posts. This is also frowned upon. There are many people who register here and spam 'sup' type posts to get their post count up in an attempt to get promoted. What they don't realize is... that will prevent them from being promoted. As I said at the start, if you're going to post, post meaningfully.

6. Don't be an asshat! Meaning, don't be rude, confrontational, arrogant/elitist, or a moron who thinks his opinion > someone else's opinion. Be respectful and if you have a major issue with someone, take it to PM or contact a mod (DVAted, Cpt Rex, Hitman, etc).

Hey messuped. Welcome to VGU.

Hope to see you around the forums and chat. Just be patient and interact on the forums and you'll be promoted in no time. Best of luck.

Welcome messuped!

Its nice to meet you, the info and links roflcopter posted should answer any questions you may have, feel free to PM me or one of the other staff members if you have any additional questions or issues.    

Follow Tesvixen's guide and you'll love your time here, its an amazing place filled with amazing people and I'm sure you will enjoy you time here.    

Take care and Have fun!

Hello messuped!
Welcome to the forums! Hope you enjoy your stay here.
Have fun buddy.

Thanks everyone, this has been the warmest welcome I've experienced on the internet  
I too hope to have a great time, which I've so far
Happy modding