The Newbie's Guide to Discworld
Here, I'll be putting all the information that's too complex for my Discworld Basics guide but not specific enough for the other guides.
The Importance of Good English
Discworld is, as you should have noticed by now, text-based. As such, the only way you can influence other people is with your words. (And to a lesser degree, your emoticons.) Because of this, your ability to communicate with others is absolutely essential. If other people cannot understand you, or do not feel like taking the time to decode "omg hi2u lolololol", they will not be well disposed to you at all. Good spelling and grammar are not difficult, and with practice, they should become second nature. Discworld has done wonders for my typing speed and my ability to explain clearly and concisely. Just try your best- spell as best you can, and try to put capitals where they belong. However, using numbers in place of words is RIGHT OUT. Don't even think about it. As you might have noticed, I'm not flawless- there are a few typos throughout this page, but they are all accidental- I never permit my English to be worse than my best. Follow these rules, and you should be fine on Discworld.
Despite all appearances, those other characters on Discworld are in fact people.
While it might not seem like it sometimes, those other mysterious characters you will encounter on Discworld are in fact people. Treat them as such- they are worthy of your respect and politeness, at least until they prove otherwise. These people have all have (with the exception of Terano, perhaps, =p) a sense of humour and joking with people you don't know can actually prove an amusing pastime. However, because tone of voice cannot be carried via text, it is advised that you give them some sort of idea that you're joking- generally emoticons are well-suited for this task. Unlike many games, mistreating other players on Discworld is not taken well- kill stealing, abuse, and other offences will get you in one sort of trouble or another. If you are interested in going PK (Playerkiller), you will note that while random killings are generally accepted, corpselooting is not. This will get you in trouble quickly, as older, tougher PKs will easily obliterate you and return the ill-gotten goods to the victim. Of course, there is a double-standard about this- if you manage to offend someone like Rondros, generally no-one will come to your aid. However, most older players are very even-tempered, and during my time as a PK I have never had problems with corpselooting. Thieves, however, are a different story.
If enough people believe it worthwhile, I may put a PK guide up here. I just don't feel like typing out a detailed guide that won't help anyone.