[Jazuela]

Of course you could've asked what command to use. That's what the "ooc" command is for. You'd just type:

ooc What command do I use to trade with you?
and it would come out:

The green-haired man oocs, "What command do I use to trade with you?"

And the guy would've responded, using the same command, something like:

The blue-skinned man oocs, "give axe blue" or "give bladed 3.figure", check out the "give" help file.

If you were trading with an NPC and not a character, the "trade" help file has cross references to everything you need, from "view" to "barter."

There are also helpers, and when you are approved to play your character, you get an e-mail directing you to the website list of all the helpers and how to get in touch with them (some have AIM, some only use e-mail for helping, some use both, some use a whole bunch of IM programs).

Back to the initial concern though, all RPIs have some method of getting OOC information across to new players. Shadows of Isildur has a whole area devoted to it, in-game, where helpers show up as anonymous gnomes. Armageddon has an OOC helper system. Most muds, RPI/diku or not have an OOC command. Some of them are specifically for new players, and are actually chat channels within the game, accessed by typing "newbie" or "/newbie." Some, like Armageddon, use, very simply, and intuitively, "OOC."