I'm fairly new, only been playing about 6 months or so. If you saw my chars you'd see the obveous role play deffeciancy. Stuff saying "I hate orcs. Gosh I hate orcs" as the mainstay of elven roles. Maybe not that bad but still, bad.
Thing is, I've never been able to run with anyone who does better. What little I know, I picked up from short snatches of time with good RPers, but those were short and fleeting.
It seems all the newbies are in the same boat, using hashed over crutches and gimicks to get anywhere. When someone who does know what they're doing comes along, they tend to be an excellent player who shoots through the ranks before any newbies can cling to them leach-like and learn a thing or two about role playing.
This is understandable, no one likes to stay in the lower ranges for two long. But unless there is some teacher system, there is going to be a inseprable gap between newbies and veterens. Yes I know, by definition newbies will be behind, but the concern is that they can never catch up. That without a teacher they can't learn. I started playing this mud when the one I came from died. It died because the newbies were left to fend for themselves while the vets did their own thing. In this style of game, internet text role playing, in a gaming nitch by no means unique ( there are what, 5 trillion muds out there or only 2), if the newibes are left to fend for them selves, the mud dies. Simple fact of mudding, the newbies are your life blood. The players stop playing and without new ones to take their place, this place called (for the time being) thera will cease to exist. Anyone remember Zork? Fun game right? Untill you play one with graphics. The diference between Zork and Carrion is the people that you interact with.
All this to say, people in a mud are needed. After you have people, then you need teachers. The mud has no shortage of people, but teachers are lacking, if no teachers, then the people will decline.

My solution? I have two.

No one really wants to spend their entire mud sesion helping hapless 'newbie macretard' why it is bad to attack city guards. They would much rather be doing super-cool-things-that-whatever-it-is-that-you-do when-you-get-about-the-all-elusive-30th-level. So why not arange for some people to do both. Either an immortal, or a player you know will not abuse it, let them mutichar. Let them be able to have a second char on that will stay below level 11-20 and be for the express purpose of role playing for the newbies. That and teaching them the ropes. This way, you could have dedicated teachers that don't get screwed because they are trying to help.

The second way is to make an incentive for helping a newb. I just read a battle field post where this guy was totally pissed because someone he invested time in deleted. Whenever I've helped (given eq, much advice, adventured with, held their hand as they learn to drink water) a beginner and they delete, I gain nothing and I've lost much. What if you make an aprenticship program where a newb will be apprenticed to an older player and if that older player can get the younger one to X level or XY character development, he gets major rewards. Like if you can get your apprentice to level 11 or level 20 and an immortal judges that the player is role playing to a desired level, then he gets mondo experincer or a limited piece of eq, or a few extra training sesions, or...

With the first option you would have good teachers that would not have to sacrifice as much as before in order to teach. This option seems also simpler.

With the second, you will have teachers motivated to train their student, teachers who will sacrifice their time for the newbies, but will also be somewhat rewarded for it.
It might be also cool to make the master have to be of the same race and/or class as the apprentice.

Yes, in any scenario, a player who cares about the mud should help, unfourtunitly, as seen, that does not happen enough. Whatever happens, we the newbies and me the noob, we need teacher. If we don't get teachers, we will have to leave the mud. If we do, then the mud dies.
I love this mud and I don't want that to happen




For an example of a good teacher/role player, Ghroth and Sastine. Not just their marrige typle interations, but they were genuine rps who were glad to pass on tips to youngsters. For an example of teacherless players, see 99% of the players below level 15.