Several questions

So I've been hovering around debating whether or not to join CDN for over a year now (I did briefly post before but it didn't really go well). On the one hand I followed the old boards and thought they were pretty entertaining, but on the other hand I wasn't sure if I wanted to make the time commitment, especially since it's been a very busy year IRL. I've finally decided to start experimentally posting again, but there are several things I'm wondering that I'd like to find out about first:

1. What are the major in-universe events after the ones covered in the Retrospectives that any media-savvy character would know about? The list of news articles hasn't really been updated since December, and not everything seems to have been fully covered anyway - for instance, I can't find much on the fallout from the "Project Rainfall" storyline.

2. How do I go about finding out what information has been established on any given race, group, or location in CDN continuity? The wiki is very helpful, but also incomplete. While I know there's some room for invention, I don't want to step on anyone's toes or do contradictory things if I can help it.

3. This last might belong in a thread of its own, but I'm a little concerned about whether "casual" roleplaying - meaning here mainly sticking to the Extranet Discussion Forum section and posting irregularly - is okay on CDN. During my browsing I've seen periodic Virtual Forum threads expressing concerns about the site becoming a "hugbox" lacking in any real emotional content or drama. While I do want to create fleshed-out characters than I did before, I'm more interested in the extranet discussion then in "conventional" roleplaying, and I wanted to check whether that's seen as okay given these existing concerns about the future of the site.

I'm sure a mod be along soon enough to make a more knowledgeable post to answer your questions, but I'm going to try and tackle this.

1, the news articles are about it afaik. Other than that, just the stuff posted on the boards. Some things would be reported on. The world hasn't changed drastically since the retros, beyond what's detailed in the news articles. we don't talk about project rainfall

2, in addition to the wiki there's this thread and its predecessor. Other than that, your best bet is to head into IRC and ask those around what they think on a certain idea. Most likely people will know what's previously been done.

3, there are plenty of discussion forum only characters. That's fine, so don't worry about it. It's certainly possible to create a fleshed-out character through it, discovering what their opinions on things are etc etc.

The hugboxing concerns behaviour that lacks conflict, and there certainly can be had conflict in extranet conversations so don't worry about that.

Edit: casual participation is perfectly alright, regardless of what others may tell you

As one of the moderators of this forum:

1. You've arrived just in time! Since December, another set of relays opened up, reconnecting the Galaxy to the Nubian Expanse (source of some of the seediest activities of ME2). The Galaxy Map Highways have been (nearly) completely restored!

Of course, people are still dealing in the aftershocks of the War, what with bloodsports coming back to Chresk and the general chaos involved with the recent attacks on the salarian Union. These attacks have largely moved underground (read: I have been unable to work on anything involving that), but the threads are still there for other intrepid writers to take hold - and given the relative chaos involved with Union politics, things could blow up again at a moment's notice.

Of most note, however, the Rachni - having completely disappeared in the aftermath of the War - have returned. It's unclear what they want - but their sudden appearance, along with their equally sudden allegiance to the Consensus, does not bode well.

Still, though, it looks like poeple are making headway. Humans are working to restore Earth and its colonies, the turians continue to show themselves as galactic exemplars, and even the krogan have made progress on their planet of Death, continuing their first Economic Summit with surprisingly little bloodshed.

Hopefully that will help you with getting an in on current Galactic Politics. Apologies for the mess in the wiki and in the Who Wrote the News Thread - the Mods have been busy, though now that you've called attention to it we can hopefully get that back in order.

2. Nat's thread can be immensely helpful, but when all else fails, ask around! Our PM system is currently a bit archaic and cumbersome, but you'd be surprised how many people keep an eye on those old inboxes. If you see someone who seems in the know, send them a note for help - I'm sure there are a lot of people who'd love to help a newbie orient themselves on the forum.

3. If it weren't for "casual" players, this forum would die out immediately. Growing out of the original CDN newsfeeds, it has relied on people gossiping on the latest articles, creating their own, and arguing with one another since its very inception. It is perfectly fine to start out slow and just gossip about your corner of the universe; in fact, it's much more encouraged than trying to act as a mouthpiece for your given species as a whole. It encourages depth, (fun) controversy, and (perhaps most importantly) freshness.

The problems discussed in those threads are endemic (and, eventually, toxic) to any forum: namely, that people become entrenched in their ways, unwilling to communicate, and adopt a general nature of "My Way or the Highway." As a new player, you have the ability to help stave that off, to shake people off their feet, just by doing what you've said you wanted to do: just be a casual player, interested in keeping the conversation going. Do not worry about being the problem discussed in those threads.

Be excited about being the solution.

Thanks, everyone! That's very helpful.

Looks like I have some reading to do.