Hello Leonicus,
Welcome to PlaneShift.
Yes, it depends a lot on whom you meet. I help newbies a lot, and I always ask them what kind of help they want. PlaneShift is complex, everything is new, so best thing is probably not to throw too much at newbies at the same time.
As suggested, make use of your buddy list. You can add comments to people there, which might be helpful in the beginning. Soon you will know who wants to RP, and who wants not. If somebody really annoys you, /ignore them.
What exactly struck you as too long in the tutorial? More detailed feedback would be appreciated for further improvements. It is certainly long, but it also covers all of the basic points of PlaneShift. Recently I met a newbie who had been rushed through the tutorial by a friend of his, and therefore was totally clueless.
Enjoy the game, and see you there soon.
Gonger