One time, I went to go PK a guy and I wielded a white taslamaran rose instead of my white adamantite dagger.
I died.
Funny anecdotes aside, I have a feeling that you might have had a run of bad luck before, and perhaps a run of better luck now. It's my opinion that the players make or break the game, and there's almost always going to be someone who is impatient in dealing with newbies just like there's almost always guaranteed to be someone who is extremely helpful. Sometimes they're the same person, depending on what mood you catch them in
. Some people might argue that the playerbase has gone down, and with it, there is a higher percentage of players that are interested in bettering the game than there used to be. That might be true, although I'm not certain it's the main factor as to why things might be more friendly to you this time.
All that said, I am very glad that you're enjoying the game! It's one of the most impressive and engaging muds out of all that I've played. Feel free to also pose any questions that you want to the forums here: Despite the low amount of activity recently on them, plenty of people still peruse them and you'll often get quick responses on questions.