But I think, first of all, there is a much wider variety of who is becoming the leader of cabals. Before, it always seemed to me it was the same people over and over.

There is without a doubt a large difference between the line of experienced and inexperienced. To the experienced, inexperienced players standout, for, well, their inexperience. And vice versa. Only once or twice during the span of my current character has anyone less experienced than myself ever thought to ask me "hey, where does that come from?". If I come across an inexperienced player who is wanting to learn more about fighting tactics, or where to get this or that, I will tell them, if it is appropriate to do so for my character. There is still a large mix of the spectrum playing CF. I never see anyone ever asking me for help, and believe me, my current (and several past) characters are the sort of characters who would be willing to help with just about anything. The way I learned to get better was to make myself a sought out group member, and ask as many questions as possible, and follow the people who do know stuff around as much as possible.

My advice to the inexperienced: Befriend everyone you possibly can. If you're bored, try calling up one of those people you met a long time ago. "Hey, I was just wandering around X area and found something I was looking for. My time and services have just been made available. Is there anything you want help with?"

Sure, more often than not they will say, nah, I don't need any help, but it's always worth a shot. And it may seem floofie, but there's nothing wrong with that. Learn to crawl before you walk - or run with the big dogs.

I don't even know if this post pertains to anything anyone said anymore. *sigh* sorry.