1) You are dead on about preps. Daurwyn just edited a post I made about the spidersilk bracers. Not sure why. I've had posts here and on Dio's deleted because I talked about #### that should be talked about (like you said, where to get protection potions, where to get stoneskin, where to get blah blah blah).

2) The quest #### is absurd. I could see about the happy sleeves quest or the happy canteen quest, but fine leather? Really? Newbie channel is general is just relatively useless. Half the people use it to blow off steam OOC (you're looking at one), half use it for a comedy/####-talking hour, and the other half don't even know what it is. Some of the quests, like the rat trap quest, you're not going to figure out unless you talk to someone OOC or IC (I got lucky and had someone run through it for me IC...something I try to do for every player that asks).

3) Silent. My brother has done a lot of things I disagree with, but posting a walkthrough of Silent isn't one of them (though I disagree with why he did it...story for another time). This area ####ing sucks, as you said it's totally for like 8 people who power-game the #### out of it (24 haste and sanc...sure!). And it's not only players, IMMs do this too. And if that wasn't bad enough (!!!!), Nepenthe changes #### like once a year when too many people start learning it (I honestly think Nep should be banned from going to Silent...but that's just me).

While I agree somewhat with Nepenthe's statement above (that the gulf of knowledge/skill between veteran/newbie was much greater back in the day), the simple fact of the matter is this game is very newbie-unfriendly (which is understandable), but what is worse is that our player/IMM culture is even MORE newbie-unfriendly.

It is what it is. It's why the 4 people I introduced to CF no longer play, and why I no longer play.