In general, it depends on where you are at, I would think. As at each place I think there is a certain way of RP. At some places there is a non-written rule that promotes emote/social/pose order, at others there are preference for different things.

A couple bits of general advice (Hopefully others may add to this)

1)Watch and learn: This does /not/ mean to go somewhere and do nothing while others RP. This does mean to see some more experienced RPers where you are at RP while you do at the same time. You can learn quite a bit from this, it also shows you how things are done where you are at. At some places, one may RP wearing their coded clothes. At another place, clothes may be completely RPable.

2)Make mistakes: Others say this quite often, and I agree, making both IC and OOC mistakes can help you learn. IC ones make it seem so that your character is not immortal.

3)Do not try to be God: This one need clarified. It also goes along with Number 2. Do not try to get powers your character normally couldn't have, or do not try to overstep your reasonable IC statistics just to be able to win in code. This does not mean your /character/ can not think they are a God of sorts (I do have a character like this, one of my favorites.) However, do not OOCly think this, it gives off an air of elitism that can really discourage newer and older players alike.

4)Listen to others: If someone has some advice, take it. This can improve your RP quite a bit. I think old and new players can learn from this.

5)And last of all on this part of this list... the obvious one: HAVE FUN! If you aren't enjoying RP one day, go ahead, disconnect, it won't be the end of the world.