Hi there,
I am new as well. I've only been playing for about a week now. And when I first started I had no problem finding ppl to help me out. You really have to be patient and ask politely...If you ask questions like you are in a rush, ppl tend to stay away. If you want help, the best place to go is to the blacksmith area. There are always ppl there and always willing to help. You have to think of this as well, everyone that is playing are in different time zones. So their character might be there, but they might not be. As well as this...they already might be helping/talking to someone at the same time....either by /tell or /group...so they might have a lot on their hands already. The only advice I can offer is to be patient...ppl will help but give them a few moments...also there is the chat meny Help...this is always a good place to talk for help with anything....