I am getting destroyed online. I need some tips. Some general tips would be nice, but Ryu specific tips would be nice as well. 
 
Or, I play really defensive (or try to) by nature, so character recommendations are welcome as well.  
 
Oh yeah, I SUCK AT THIS GAME BTW! :(

Stop jumping. Stop throwing out random special moves. Browse http://shoryuken.com/ like it's the bible. Play against players, not the AI. 
 
Also, expect to keep getting squashed for a long time.

Play Zangief. It's how I win all my matches despite not knowing any combos!

Pfft, who needs defense when you can lariat!

If you like defense, try guile

@yoshimitz707: Isn't zangief a grappler? I don't think I could play defensive with him, lol.

Fireballs? HA! Zangief can just spin through those and take no damage!

Just sit back and throw fireballs. Make sure you change up the speed of your fireballs, shoryu when they jump at you, poke with low forward into fireball/tatsu when they're within range. That's pretty much the basics on how to play Ryu. Doing cross ups isn't a bad idea either.

Unless you're willing to put tons and tons of hours working on combos and learning match ups you might as well stop.

Look up the Ryu video guide on Crosscounter.tv. It might be a bit more in-depth than you bargained for, but there are some good pointers for beginners and intermediates in there.

@TechHits: If they jump, I shoryuken. If they ultra or something then I will focus and then do heavy into shoryuken. I throw fireballs to see how they react and then react to whatever they do. To me, that is defensive, but I have no idea what I'm doing, so feel free to criticize my definition to the extreme.

Play the game a bunch. Watch streams. Read your character's forum on SRK. Try new stuff and see how it works. 
 
That's about it.

Choose Dhalsim.
 
Arrow down + strong punch.
 
Win.

Nothing.  If your like me, and lost 30-50 matches in a row today.  there's nothing that'll up your game, because matchmaking keeps putting people like us against 2000+ pp and bp people.  It doesn't matter if me or you have been playing fighting games since we were ten.  SFIV is just different than most fighters.  It requires strict timing to do even the simpliest of combos.  Try any other fighter, that you can do bread and butter combos without having to practice for weeks just to do Lp lk mk.
 
Also no amount of youtube tutorials or forum reading will help either, because like I said its about timing.  They don't show you that in videos, or reading about it.

Nothing.  If your like me, and lost 30-50 matches in a row today.  there's nothing that'll up your game, because matchmaking keeps putting people like us against 2000+ pp and bp people.  It doesn't matter if me or you have been playing fighting games since we were ten.  SFIV is just different than most fighters.  It requires strict timing to do even the simpliest of combos.  Try any other fighter, that you can do bread and butter combos without having to practice for weeks just to do Lp lk mk.  Also no amount of youtube tutorials or forum reading will help either, because like I said its about timing.  They don't show you that in videos, or reading about it.

@thehuntsmen5434 said:

It requires strict timing to do even the simpliest of combos.

Have you even PLAYED this game? SF4 has the lowest execution barrier of any fighting game out there except for the new Mortal Kombat.

@Buttenator said:

@thehuntsmen5434 said:

It requires strict timing to do even the simpliest of combos.

Have you even PLAYED this game? SF4 has the lowest execution barrier of any fighting game out there except for the new Mortal Kombat.

Yeah damn. Combos have so much frame advantage in SF4.

@huntad said:

I am getting destroyed online. I need some tips. Some general tips would be nice, but Ryu specific tips would be nice as well. Or, I play really defensive (or try to) by nature, so character recommendations are welcome as well. Oh yeah, I SUCK AT THIS GAME BTW! :(

Which character do ya use (too lazy to see if you already answered this).

Choose Dhalsim.  Arrow down + strong punch.  Win.

@huntad said:

@demontium: I use Ryu. Btw, my Ryu was dominated the other day. I think I need to learn combos, because I can outplay them, and then the match goes on so long that they figure me out by then and combo me to death. So, I think I need combos to punish properly.

LITERALLY everything you need to get started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcMVI-7cn04

Make sure to also read up on his AE changes (they are small but important).

@huntad said:

@demontium: I use Ryu. Btw, my Ryu was dominated the other day. I think I need to learn combos, because I can outplay them, and then the match goes on so long that they figure me out by then and combo me to death. So, I think I need combos to punish properly.

To start, learn a couple of basic, damaging combos to use when you know when you have an easy opportunity to punish. If someone throws out a Shoryuken and blocks it, rather than sweep or grab, know that you have an easy combo that can do twice as much damage. Also, try not to become predictable. This comes more from being able to step back and see what you're doing wrong, which requires an understanding of the game to a certain degree. Play a match, and regardless or whether you win or lose, go to the Replay Channel and watch what you did. See what works against people, see what doesn't. Point out what your weaknesses are. Do you have trouble blocking? Do you get caught out by the same stuff? If you can get the match to play out for a while and the opponent figures you out, use that to your advantage. Throw out the same stuff a few times, then change it up. The next time you do what you've been doing all along, they'll try to accommodate for that, and you can change it up and punish their attempt at attacking you.

Combos aren't even half the battle. So while it's good to have a few in your pocket, you'd be much better off focusing on better execution and having a game plan. What good is it learning a fancy combo if you can't get the opportunity to land it? Better players won't give you easy punish attempts, so it's up to you to break open their defence and work in your combos from there. Work on your spacing, work on your anti-airs, and make the most of your moves.

If you can "outplay" the opponent, what do you do? How do they "figure you out"? The closer you get to understanding the real reasons as to why you're losing, the more chance you have of fixing the weak parts of your game.

as ryu, you have to sweep the leg... im series
use a few special moves but fiere kick the entire battle
many people don't block crouched as much so its the perfect weak point
 
plus learn other characters playing styles/moves. don't play as them but know their strengths and weaknesses

@kermoosh: This is pretty bad advice since even average players will block random sweeps and Ryu can get punished by a lot of characters for it. Not saying you should never sweep, but it's not something you can spam.

@blueduck said:

Unless you're willing to put tons and tons of hours working on combos and learning match ups you might as well stop.

Never. NEVER take "tips" from this gentleman. What have you playe'd before? do you have some bnb down, or just a def player in general no matter what char you play?

@blueduck said:

Unless you're willing to put tons and tons of hours working on combos and learning match ups you might as well stop.

Never. NEVER take "tips" from this gentleman. What have you playe'd before? do you have some bnb down, or just a def player in general no matter what char you play?

I won 5 matches in a row on my first night online. Second night online I lost 6 in a row. Expect ups and downs, like anything the more you play and practice the better you will get. 10,000 hour rule. Sure losing constantly is frustrating as hell, but keep at it and don't get discouraged and eventually you will be the person killing it online, if you care to put the time in that is. Most of us don't have the time to spend on one game, we play a bit then move on. Like any online game there are always hardcores that play that game 24/7 and nothing else, they will always be on top, because frankly they deserve it based on the devotion and time spent mastering their game.

Use More Skill!!!
 
Oh God if someone has already said this I'll be really bummed.

@huntad said:

Wow, I did not expect so many replies to me sucking at this. Thanks a lot for the tips guys. I definitely won't give up, because I genuinely want to get better at this game.
@Soulblitz: To be more specific, I know I outplay them, because I can read their movements very well, and punish them A LOT. It just falls at the end, because they usually go all out and get a combo in that lets them get in and finish me off. I'm a good zoner, but I need some combos to make them respect me when they do get in (I think).

@OwnlyUzinWonHan: I play on PSN.

Thats too bad, did ownly mention WE ARE THE BEST?

@demontium said:

@huntad said:

Wow, I did not expect so many replies to me sucking at this. Thanks a lot for the tips guys. I definitely won't give up, because I genuinely want to get better at this game.
@Soulblitz: To be more specific, I know I outplay them, because I can read their movements very well, and punish them A LOT. It just falls at the end, because they usually go all out and get a combo in that lets them get in and finish me off. I'm a good zoner, but I need some combos to make them respect me when they do get in (I think).

@OwnlyUzinWonHan: I play on PSN.

Thats too bad, did ownly mention WE ARE THE BEST?

360 REPRESENT YO!

Stop playing terrible games.