Hello all newbies! And/or oldies! I'm going to share 12 things that I wish I knew when I joined A-U.*
1. Just post! The Miscellaneous Randomness is a good place to get started. That's how you'll find a place at A-U.
2. NEVER try to read through the first 100 pages or so of a topic. I tried about twice and gave up on that. Just figure out where the discussion is now and join that.
3. It may seem hard to make friends, but it's not really hard! Don't actually try to chase after specific people to be your friend. Just be yourself and post where you feel like it. When you start talking a lot to someone you'll find a friend!
4. The best was to improve your graphics skills is to enter contests. Have fun! Don't worry about winning. You'll see a great improvement if you practice and play around.
5. I began to know a lot of people by their avatar, or graphics.
Never do this!!! Graphics change periodically, and you'll be lost if you don't recognize the people! Discern users by their NAMES not their AVATARS!!!
6. Explore lots of places. A-U is so big, it's easy to skip over an interesting thread! Don't just visit one spot over and over. Look through a lot of different places. You'll discover new people and ideas!
7. Watch what you say. It's easy to lean one way or the other in debates, but it's sometimes best to use kinder words in expressing your feelings over certain people, characters, or ideas.
8. Remember: posts should count on quality not quantity! It's easy to fall into the race to reach a higher rank and compromise for short, useless posts. Don't do this! Enjoy your time in each rank; you'll reach the upper ones soon enough. Concentrate on the quality of your post.
9. THE A-U FAMILY TREE IS NOT A REAL FAMILY. (I thought this for a while
and soon learned that I, and YOU! YES, YOU! could become a part of the family by simply joining in the miscellaneous randomness section. figure out how to join the imaginary families! it's fun and gives you a place at A-U.)
10. Follow the rules. Always. There's nothing stupider you can do than get yourself in trouble.
11. Use the smilies! It's what they're here for!
8)
12. Remember: obsession is a good thing! A-U is a place where you can rant and go crazy about LotR, and non-LotR stuff too! We're here to have fun, so have fun!
I hope you enjoy your time here!
*I am not remorseful in any way at all, or anything like that. 
This is just a place to share 'survival tips' for A-U! I hope they help you, and if you have A-U experience, feel free to add to the list in your own posts.
