What tips would you offer to a complete newbie on how to get started in RPG?

One of the first things you'll want to do if you're new to role playing is to create a character. Give them an interesting, realistic, and expansive backstory! It will make your character seem much more relatable and human. Explain what your character looks like in detail. Make sure your character isn't over powered! Give the character flaws, let bad things happen. Life isn't always perfect for people. Don't give your character laser eyes and invincibility. That's really over powered, and is generally frowned upon.

After you have your character made, you could either join a role play or create your own. You may make an open, open to requests, or closed role play.

Thanks for sharing dscyrux...

Thanks very much for that descyrux, it is very helpful and gives me a much better understanding of how to get started. +1

You should be able to find some help in this thread here https://rpglounge.rpg-board.net/t118-good-character-ideas

Well, here's a bit of the dust I picked up from the road.

• Check the website for guides. Many RP sites have already extensive guides to explain in detail different things and will make your life easier.
  
• Do not be afraid to ask if you still have doubts after reading their guides / no guides are available. Just PM your friend/mentor or "game master" (usually the thread starter of the RP you have signed to) instead of derailing the Role-play thread.
  
• Pay attention how other players format their posts as different sites may have different rules regarding how to denote dialogue from narrative.
  
• Get familiar with and try to draft your character behaviour with alignment.
  
• Throw yourself in. People appreciate your willingness to try and will help you grow on your own pace. You can even request a practice session through PMs or a loose thread. Do not get discouraged if things don't go smoothly or an elitist try to give you a hard time. Simply move on but if you like the idea, just keep trying to find a friendly, open place to give it a shot.
  

Well, there surely is more, but these are the few I can recall at this time. I hope they can be of help. :-)

Having never tried role play in my past, the information youbguys have posted seems helpful. The fact that you guys have taken the time to explain roleplay yo a new person impresses me as most roleplay sites are not this accomidating! Because of this I may create a character and give it a try! You guys are awesome, thank you!

Awww, thanks Teg that is really nice of you and no problems, I am sure we are ALL glad to help ANYONE out!

Why ARE you CAPITILISING words ADMIN. Are YOU trying to MAKE a POINT.

It was to put emphasis on words lol.

WHY WOULD U WANNA EMPHASISW

Because it is for expression in writing. LOL!

What ARE you TALKING about

Nevermind prisoner. Thanks for your interest in my words though...

I'm JUST kidding. I KNOW what YOU are TALKING about. CALM down.

Thanka for help

My advice for a newbie:

Roleplaying is just a game. This is a time when you play pretend with others by writing characters and scenes back and forth. You are roleplaying to have fun, so don’t let it become un-fun. And if it does, figure out what is making it not fun and try to amend it so that it can be fun again. Never forget that this is not a life-or-death situation.

But also never forget that the person on the other side of the screen is human. As distant as people can seem—you may not know the name or the face or the current emotion the person displays—there is a real life human being on the other side. Everything you say or do to that “random username” on the other side of the internet impacts a human just like yourself.

Listen to feedback, but trust your instincts. People are all willing to beat you up and drag you through the dirt because they don’t care about the person on the other side of the computer. That isn’t to say that no one has worthwhile feedback, but think about it carefully before you take it to heart. Remember the reasons you roleplay. If people are telling you to do things that are contrary to your reasons, they might not be worthwhile to listen to.

You are not the best roleplayer, nor are you the worst. You have plenty of room for improvement, and you have the ability to teach others. Just don’t get too full of yourself in the latter part.

As far as more concrete advice, write as much or as little as you want; don’t let other people tell you how much to write. Make sure that your characters are realistic, even in a fantasy setting. Very few people want to write with super special flowers who have tragic pasts. Screw the tragic pasts. They don’t impress anyone, and often the tragedies are so overdone that they would realistically make a character very different from how you think they would be.

And that’s what I have for now.