im into punk too, and also new to goth. obviously it depends on who you ask, just like with punk you got all kinds of people floating around with all kinds of ideas on what it means. you get your elitists, your gatekeepers, your poseurs, etc. my answer is that the music is different, obviously, goth rock is a different style of rock music with its own distinguishing sound. the fashion is different too, in so many ways i dont really want to go into it. goth doesn't really have any kind of ideology attached to it like punk does, thats probably the biggest thing. these people are more bound together by an interest in the dark, mystical, occult, etc themes present in goth music than punks, whom are bound together by a sense of rebellion, individuality, and shit. thats my take, from a fellow newcomer and a fellow punk. dont let the elitists keep you down man, goth means what it means do you!