First steps....

A term used over at the PCGS boards.

Here is the origin of the term over there( hopefully it wil paste in a readable format):

This is from an archived post by Askari, whose whereabouts are not known (last seen in 2005).

____________________________________________________________________________________
THE LEGEND OF THE darkside

Well, you're in the thick of it right now! The "Dark Side" comprises CU's 'World & Ancient Coins' and 'US & World Currency' forums. "Liteside" refers to the 'US Coins' forum, which is haunted by sl@bgoblins and trolls amidst which you can sometimes discover some brilliant gems of wisdom and, if you're lucky and clever, return from. "Greyside" is a friendly monikor adopted by our collectors of numismia Canadienne since, like the citizens of that northern land, they know they're not part of the US, but they're pretty sure they're 'Americans' (especially after a few Molsons).

<< Okay, so where did all this "darkside" business come froom? >>

Ah, so you want the story as it's been handed down through the Dark Side generations? [That's "... generations, eh?" for you Greysiders.] Well, pull up a comfy chair to park your keister in, open a cold one (non-domestic, natch), and listen up, my friend:

Once upon a time there were a few lonely posters whose interest went beyond and otherwise from US coin collecting. Alas, but their numerous forum brethren sneered and could see nothing worth collecting besides US coins. Whatever lay Beyond was obviously of little interest and no value. These “Litesiders” had lost their lore of where coins had come from and that money came in many shapes and sizes and material ... and from many, many lands other than their own. Indeed, the Litesiders (as they came to be called) didn't even really like their own coins ... they really lusted and yearned for plastic slabs with high numbers on them – with the coin sealed permanently within, untouchable ... its life history lost within its transparent tomb.

An intrepid duo, BigAlan and Askari, decided to unsettle their fellow collectors’ “Lite-dazed” lives by subtly revealing to them what lay beyond, in the Dark, in terra incognita. They dug a deep, dark Pit, one from which no Lite could escape, and threw a beer party (all non-domestic brew, natürlich, mein Herr). Slowly, but surely, more and more were enticed over from the Liteside to slip gently into the Pit of Darkness. Some went freely, some resisted and swore, some lasted days or weeks, but most were drawn in.

The minions of Lite, of course, became frightened and told wild tales (many true) of what went on during those drum-beating, pagan rituals and built a fortress they called “Registry” in which to live their pale lives, once again, in denial of there really being anything to the Dark.

But then, the Flame-Wars began in the Liteside and many brave and true collectors were scorched and singed and wounded – yea, even to their very souls – from battles waged through legions and factions of legions of trolls. Weary of these tiresome, never-ending conflicts, many left the Liteside, seeking solace beyond the Pale of Lite ... and finding, to their surprise and joy, Endarkenment amongst the hearty, hale-fellow-well-met souls collecting world coins, ancients, and banknotes.

... and here you are. (And, as you may have suspected, the darkside has been waiting for you! )