I am new to the server but not new to the game, been playing ever since release (2003) and keep coming back to the game.
I stumbled upon the discovery mod and tried it out, as soon as I saw a server with 160+ people on my face just beamed a smile, good to see a bunch of people still playing this game and also such an active community!
My advice would be to follow the rules (obviously), find some RP that you enjoy and don't let anyone get too down on you.
Joining a trade faction is a good way to get on your feet financially, and you can stick with them and/or move onto other factions that take your fancy. Normally joining a military (or at least combat) faction is the next one to go for.
The Wiki is pretty good to get a general overview of the universe (that's what brought me to Disco).
The official factions have their own subsection of the forums, while all the others are in the one section.