With the mothballing of Kite Co Space Trucking, and the exodus of the remaining active members, I think now is a good time to write up a little lay of the land for people looking to start playing Eve.

The very first thing you should do is join the chatroom called Giantbombing. You can do this by clicking the little chat bubble icon above the chat window, and typing the name in, then clicking join. This is where the duders of Eve congregate and talk, and is where you can find many veterans who are enthusiastic to answer any questions you have.

In Eve, the guild/clan equivalent is called a Corporation. These can join together under an Alliance. Alliances have formed Coalitions in game, though they are not officially supported by the in-game structure. You should probably join a corp at some point within your first month or two of playing the game. It will give you players to play with, and most of them run events and fleets you can join. Playing eve as a solo player 100% of the time is very rarely fulfilling. If you don't know what you like to do after the tutorial, have a chat with us in giantbombing and we can let you know if there are things we think might suit you. Without further adieu, here are some of your options for corporations.

Dreddit

A member of Test Alliance Please Ignore, this is the corporation most of the active members of Kite Co joined after the mothballing of the corp. They have fairly open recruitment, and were originally formed from a group of players from reddit.com/r/eve. They have programs to support new players, and also run plenty of fleets that use expensive ships flown by more expensive players that new players can come along on in less expensive ships. They generally seem to have a devil-may-care attitude, and find taking the game too seriously to be laughable. As a group, they have a long history with some near deaths, so you're looking at a pretty politically and logistically experienced bunch of guys near the top. Definitely a solid choice for a player of any experience level, and the group with the most active duders currently. I'm sure some of them can expand on the Dreddit experience below.

Pandemic Horde

As a member of Horde, I am biased as hell and am putting this second on the list. I left for Horde when corp activity was winding down, because I've personally had some bad experiences with TEST (figured that's where duders would be heading) and I made some friends in Horde while working with them during my previous tenure with Kite Co in the Brave Alliance.(sorry if none of that makes sense, don't worry about it). Horde is the newbie focused alliance in the coalition of alliances we refer to as the Pandemic Family. This contains PH, Waffles, and Pandemic Legion. The reason this matters is because PL and Waffles to a lesser extent, have a reputation. PL is probably the second most powerful group in the game, and are seen by some as bullies. I personally haven't seen this behavior and they haven't been involved in the day to day activities of Horde. We aren't directly supported by them or waffles, but we will fight together sometimes. If the shit really hit the fan, though, PL would very likely come to our aid in some way. We fly a variety of low level friendly comps and have some classes and events run by Pandemic Legion guys with more money than god and nothing to do with it. If you're looking for a place where it's incredibly common to ask very basic stupid questions, Horde is definitely a good spot. I could say a lot more from my own experiences but it'd detract from the point of this thread. Talk to me in-game if you want to know more specifically.

KarmaFleet

The newbie focused corporation of the Goonswarm, member of the Imperium(formerly known as the CFC). the Imperium is the most powerful group in the game, and has the most resources. In terms of making money, and not getting randomly blown up, this is your best shot. However, this also comes with a large list of other alliances/corporations you're set friendly to(meaning you cannot fight them) and a reputation which keeps the Imperium from a lot of conflicts as people don't want to bother fighting them. I definitely know guys in KF who have a load of fun, but it's maybe a little too stable for my tastes. I know one duder has joined them, and I'll ask him to come share his experiences.

Phoebe Freeport Republic

Formed after a change to the game that saw empires shrink their territories in response, the PFR was originally aimed to take over stations in sovereign space and then open them up to everyone, hence the name. They've kept this part of their schtick, but have morphed into a fullblown player group with their own campaigns, allies and enemies. I don't know a ton about them, but they have some decent folks and are welcoming to new players. Certainly someone to keep on your radar.

Wingspan Delivery Services

A corporation focused on using stealth ships in wormhole space to find and gank unsuspecting folks. The weapon of choice for this are torpedo launchers, and hence they state they are a torpedo delivery service. Started by noted youtube guy wingspantt, they're definitely friendly to new players as a lot of them were not eve players, just fans of his youtube channel. If you're into scanning down signatures and being a sneaky monkey, it's worth checking out.

Dirt n Glitter

Low Security group, worships Kesha for some reason. Seem to have pretty open recruitment, decent option if you're looking to learn small gang tactics. I don't know too much about them but they seem decently active and focused on Lowsec if thats your thing.

I don't know many other groups I would personally send people towards right now, but I am sure there are countless others. If you're a member of any of these groups, or another group you think is good for new players, please let us know and give us some experiences! I reiterate the first thing a new player should do is join the giantbombing channel in game. It's the best place to find help and answers from other duders, and we can't wait to say hello :D

I just returned to Eve after quitting last summer (my in-game character name is Telriq Adjona). I too was in Kite Co. and I had some really enjoyable and memorable fleets during my tenure there. Some of my fondest gaming memories were had bumming around the Ryan Davis (a station) in W-MPTH. When I returned to Eve I was looking to rekindle some of those amazing experiences.

Before leaving Eve I had flown in several void bombing (bombs designed to incapacitate ships, not destroy them) fleets that were FC'd (pilot who's in-charge) by @avaren and I had a ton of respect for him and how he handled himself in-game. So I ended up joining Pandemic Horde. And I am incredibly pleased with my choice so far. If you're a new guy and want to join a very welcoming environment that will help you learn how to survive and thrive in Eve then Pandemic Horde is fantastic choice. The Horde can help you become a well rounded pilot. You'll have a chance to get your feet wet in PVP with some helpful tutors and a nice library of newbie friendly ship fittings. But in addition to PVP the Horde will help you learn how to make ISK so you can be self sufficient instead of depending upon handouts. This is exactly what I was looking for.

In addition to all of that I've been incredibly impressed with the Horde leadership. They're actively working with other in-game groups to make our home in Querious a hotbed of activity while securing a small amount of security in certain systems for isk making activities.

Speaking of getting your feet wet in PVP @avaren recently did a Q&A about this very topic. You can go take a listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebvdtV1wqfs.

I would stay away from all the corps/alliances listed above. They are anonymous blobs of people with a culture that actively encourages you to be terrible at this game by just pressing f1 in fleets where the FC does everything for you. @avaren mentioned the biggest 'newb' organizations in the game. Why are they the biggest? Because they will take absolutely everyone in. This means you are just another anonymous drone of the legion. Nobody cares what you do. The difficulty level of this game is vastly overrated. It does not require reflexes. Its a knowledge game. In any of the corps listed above you will never learn anything other than the very basics of the game.

That covered Horde, Dreddit and KarmaFleet. I could go on and on about the specifics about each alliance but I will spare you the rant/eve history lesson.

PFR is pretty much dead. Wingspan is a bunch of dudes that like to appear in youtube videos more than do anything in game. DnG do are FW players, which means they don't actually do anything other than fly t1 frigates and AFK orbit beacons while shitposting on reddit/r/eve.

My advice is to join some small pvp corporation and make some real friends. Roam around with as many different people as you can in fleets under 20 dudes. You will learn to actually play the game, make new contacts that aren't just spouting 4chan memes in corp chat. Then you can go to Querious where Pandemic Horde live and farm them all day long. (until they undock 60 feroxes for your ten man cruiser gang).

If you are from Finland or speak finnish Fistful of Finns/Paisti Syndicate is recruiting. Join 'FISTN Public' channel in game and holla at me, SerratedX.

If you speak english and want to make money in nullsec without paying rent or slaving for you PL/Goon overlords, join 'Period Basis isk' ingame channel.

@nentisys:I disagree with most of what you've said, but I respect your opinion.

I came here tonight to congratulate Kite Co for being the 6th largest independent corp on EveWho, as of this timestamp (still).

Then there's a whole post about an exodus from a Hordie, shunning EVE University while giving a who's who of /r/Eve shitpoasters. Well fucking shots fired.

Actually I hate the political BS in EVE, but it's fun to pretend. :p Anyway let me tell you guys a few favourite stories from my almost 2 years in E-Uni. I progressed up to the management level and saw how a lot of the sausage gets made, so you're free to ask me questions (make sure I get a notification). One thing about EVE is a lot of players have an opinion of E-Uni policies that is several years out of date. Every year things relax a little more.

Do you like wikis? E-Uni's wiki is where the developers of the game go to look up information, because their official one falls out of date far quicker. Do you like Waffles? E-Uni is a feeder corp to most alliances in the game, and boasts the largest spy network in the universe. Most corporations will waive their skillpoint prerequisites in a big way for E-Uni graduates, because demonstrated ability trumps those big numbers (that as of this week, you can increase with a credit card!) One of my buddies from my days as a mentee went on from losing battleships in high security space to become a director in Waffles, gives presentations at EVE Vegas, and is still working up the command chain in Pandemic Legion, all while teaching free guest lectures under the Uni's umbrella.

Do you like to swear? Well, you're fucking out of luck on that one. You can say whatever the Simpsons say, otherwise there are all ages and genders on Uni comms, and grownups who don't need their children overhearing you rant about Black Legion spies. The previous CEO of EVE University is a former Sony game developer who designed the anti-cheat tech on Planetside 2, and will come drop phat bombs of knowledge and sass in the public channels. Also his Steam level is much higher than mine. Ultimately the Uni is a place you plan to leave, but the culture fits very well with certain types of players who become old furniture, and it's all meritocracy so anyone can turn their passion for the game into a role that makes the game better for other players.

What can't you do in E-Uni? You can't earn income from faction warfare, and you can't live in sovereign nullsec. It's also difficult to participate in alliance tournaments. You can, however, become champion of a NPC royal house, and have the developer of the game fly you to Iceland to compete the tournament's final round live on stage during Fanfest.

@brackynews: holy fuck I can't believe i forgot the uni. I spent time there, and it's fantastic; especially for those who enjoy a little more structure to their journey. Sorry man. Thanks for the writeup!

O7 Personally I started long before I knew there was a GB Eve Corp, and have ended up in Null with The Explicit Alliance (specifically I'm in RHLEI corp) and we're up north messing with Razor currently as a part of The Drone Walkers. Explicit is currently in a period of growth again, which is nice since we've had a turnover of leadership of late. We're once again playing with caps and shinier ships and seeing what trouble we can get into.

When people are starting out the top 3 things to do are: 1) Find a newbro friendly corp. Places like Dreddit, Eve-Uni, Pandemic Horde, Metallurgy Inc (that's my Alliance's newbro corp) are great places to get you on your feet and going in a direction. Without that it's easy to get lost, confused, and quit. 2) Find good resources. Eve-Uni's wiki can be outdated on a lot of stuff, but there's still tons to be gained from it. Same goes for the game's forums. If you can't find an answer, ask it there, someone will see it and answer it. 3) Don't be afraid, but that's not a license to be dumb. While it can be fun to get yourself blown up, always remember the golden rule: "Don't fly what you can't afford to lose." That's something that I've seen many newbros learn the hard way, and in doing so demoralize themselves into quitting.

The list can go on and on for tips for newbros, but my rule 1 is the most efficient way to having fun in Eve as @avaren pointed out in the OP. I'll likely swing by that Giantbombing chat some point this weekend, last time I did it was empty, so hopefully with all the activity in the game right now, that's changing!

Fly Safe! GLHB!

I found the GB chat while attempting to get to the new haven for PH people, but my cousin came over and there were like half a dozen gate camps that I eventually succumbed to so I ended up not making it, guess I will look for a move ops.

Been fun so far, joined a couple ratting fleets so far, haven't had a chance to join a pvp roaming fleet yet but looking forward to it. I started my character in 2009, played a couple months, came back for another couple of months in 2011, both times got into low sec piracy. So far null sec aligned with PH has been pretty fun, probably will be easier pvp opportunities than I had before. Ratting is higher risk higher reward now, for me.

Hopefully I can get out of pirate security status soon, would be nice to fligh through high sec without definitely getting attacked by Concord.

@avaren: Hehe, s'all good brosef. o7

It's nice to see a little more chatter in giantbombing these days.