Valg is right though. My regular mud before here was a Star Wars Reality where you got to die once, had to be good RP reason, you didn't get any info on anyone except that which you learned yourself... which isn't bad. However, the areas were small, whereas CF is HUGE; once you knew the basic haunts you were all on a level playing field, but it didn't take much skill. Imperials and Rebels could kill on sight, if you could prove it, which discouraged alot of people from using their better equipment which gave them away for fear of losing their char to a one time permadeath. In CF you can die many many times and still come back, so death really isn't that bad. Because of the heavy restrictions on PK, there were (read Valgs post) cliques of people sharing IC info OOCly and ganging up on each other that way. It was still fun, don't get me wrong, but it was a very flawed system and there will always be frustrating moments on ANY PK mud. CF allows a very fluid RP system, and has some of the very finest roleplayers I have ever seen in the MUDding community.

!!!!All it comes down to is skill!!!!

I am also a newb, and get my ass handed to me regularily, I know this is just a trial that is honing my skills.
The role you create for yourself defines your targets on this MUD, and also creates your list of adversaries that wish you dead. Instead of fighting the ball, try rolling with it. Some characters will ultimately take an exponential amount of skill to be successfull with. If you can't handle getting attacked for what seems to be no reason, try being someone that has fewer enemies.
It may seem difficult at first (trust me I have been in limbo for awhile now) but this is actually a very newb friendly MUD if you approach it from the right avenue. Most of the veteran players are more than willing to lend a hand, mostly because it helps create a more competitive adversary, which is goooood. It takes time, but once you start to learn the system (which is the same with any game on the planet) you will start to succeed and have mucho funito.
Long Live Carrion Fields!