Getting started doesn't require that you know the myriad of options and commands that exist in Subversion. Let's say for example you wanted to participate in the periodic Plone Tune-Ups. You are going to want to check out the latest stable development environment to start hacking. According to the Tune-Up site you need to grab the Plone 3.3 plonenext buildout...
There are many great reasons to use a Source Control Management (SCM) system. If you are looking to get involved with an Open Source project or manage small and large projects of your own, you are going to need to know how to use a SCM...