You know, I started to enjoy it more after I knew my basics around. If you're 23 and can't get to Aldevari, it tends to be a drag. I'm not saying not to roleplay. What I'm saying is, don't spend three hours writing a role for a character that you probably won't play for more than 15 hours. Keep it simple, and the simplest of roles don't always need to be written. Chances are, learning your way through Aldevari, the east road, maybe even down to Seantryn Modan...this will not get you enough attention to merit a big-timer role. When you start "playing for real" after a week or two of learning the basics, it's a good time to put in a role, explain who and why you are, who and why you'd kill, and what you want to do in life. But if you're playing a character to explore low level and not kill, you don't need to say who or why you'd kill. If you're not planning on playing it for long, you may not need to explain who and why you are.
Role + "I want to learn the basics of this game. I'll try to kill anyone that attacks me, or maybe I'll run in the directions that I don't know."
Could suffice.

Can you enjoy a character through RP when you absolutely know nothing otherwise about CF? Sure. But I'd like to see more people know what they're doing while they RP rather than more people RPing and asking me at 49 if I want to rank in the Ashes of Nowhere. Each person can find their own balance between RP and the rest of the game, but I don't think that anyone would call a week or two of newbie learning a "work task" in the grand scheme of how long most players get sucked into this game. You may be here for life, whether it's your own or CF's.