pwnedbyscope, don't let yourself be put off by vindekarr's comments. Before you follow his advice, you should probably read some of his posts in which he shared his experiences with various corporations, and judge for yourself whether the incompatibility between vindekarr and the corporations that accepted his applications was always entirely the fault of the corporations, or whether perhaps vindekarr's attitude may have had something to do with his repeated failed attemtps to find a good corp. :) A much better guide is samroski's post, which highlights some of the opportunities and pitfalls new players may experience. :) I have been playing EVE for over 6 years now, and have always found something interesting to do. From starting out running missions in high security space to taking my first steps into piracy, from flying in small pvp gangs to being a part of epic fleet battles, I have met many other players who were willing to teach and guide less experienced players at every stage. Like samroski, there are aspects of the game that I have never explored - so even after 6 years there are still new things for me to try, should I wish it :) My focus in the game is pvp, specialising in flying logistics ships. Again, ignore vindekarr's comments about 'blob warfare' - from looking at his posting history I doubt that he has ever been able to acquire first-hand experience of fleet warfare to be able to make an informed comment rather than regurgitating perceived forum 'wisdom'. If you have never seen 150 Apocs in a fleet warp, you really have missed out on an amazing sight :). Or seen a cynosural field open, and a capital ship fleet enter the field (admittedly, that was even more spectacular with the old cyno effect^^). Or participated in an 8 hour long running battle that left 1000 ships destroyed. Or set your alarm clock for an early morning op to recapture a system that would turn the tide of a sovereignty war. If you want to find out more about different aspects of EVE from a player perspective, I would suggest watching some EVE videos - you will find no shortage of them in the EVE Online forum section set aside for them: https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=topics&f=262 Check out the 'Clarion Call' ones, for instance :) Among corporations who help new players, EVE University has an excellent reputation. Many factional warfare corps also welcome new players and help them get started. As you progress through the game and acquire skills and ships, you will also build up contacts and a reputation, which will help you (or hinder, depending on the kind of reputation you acquire - and word does get around in EVE!) get accepted into other corporations that engage in the gameplay you want to try out. What you want to do in EVE is your choice - but the nice thing is that you can always change your mind and focus on something else instead :)
