Golden Rules

This page contains some principles for thriving in New Eden, based on Akita T's golden rules for new players, originally published on the old E-Uni forums.

Be able to afford a loss

Never fly something (or with something in the cargo) you can't afford to lose. Yes, not even in highsec. You should not fly a ship you cannot afford to replace and refit. (And remember to insure your ships!)

Scamming and unethical behavior some would consider griefing is not only allowed, it is sometimes rewarded by the game mechanics. Familiarize yourself with common scams.
Harrasment or real-life threats, though, are not ok, and you can get a shiny ban for them. Learn the difference.
People offering free stuff? Probably scammers. Be cautious.
Free stuff usually isn't. Not even minerals you mine yourself: these come with the opportunity cost of the time you spent mining them.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Paranoia pays off in New Eden. Double- and triple-check everything important.
Never grant corporation rights to stuff you can't afford to lose. No exceptions.

Just because some character is just a few minutes old doesn't mean they are a newbie. Many people have alts. The reverse is also possible, people come back after very long breaks, and characters are sold. You could see years-old newbies around too.
Skills that take less than 1 day to train are short skills. Over one week is long.
You're in this game for the long haul. New players can have a significant impact in PvP in cheap ships, but don't expect to be involved in grand power games or to undock a giant battleship in the first day of your first trial account ever.
All other things (experience, skills) being equal, superior numbers win fights in Eve more often than superior ship value. However, things are hardly ever equal.
Total skillpoint count doesn't matter much either: what is crucial is the level of skills relevant to the current situation. A new player with 2 million SP invested well in combat skills can defeat a veteran with 60 million SP oriented towards industry.

More expensive stuff is not always better stuff. It may just make you more of a target.
Slightly better stuff usually costs many times more than slightly worse stuff. Choose wisely.
Tech 2 modules are usually cheaper and better than meta/faction/deadspace modules, but harder to fit. Sometimes T2 isn't better. Other times, it's not cheaper. And occasionally, it is neither cheaper nor better.
Ships of all sizes have functions to which they are well-suited. Small ships remain useful in high-level play.
There are no "solopwnmobiles" in EVE. Everything you can fly blows up if it's shot hard enough.
With enough skills and experience, ship size really doesn't matter all that much.

Show Info and Variants->Compare are your best friends. Use these on everything you're even vaguely interested in.
Always check your ammo, nanite paste, drones, repairs, and ship insurance before you undock. Check your Home station before you undock for flight in nullsec.

There is no such thing as "a fair fight" or "an unfair fight". There's only a fight. Eve is a game of highly asymmetric PvP.
Just because you can fly something doesn't mean you should. Keep in mind the value of support skills alongside the base skills necessary to sit in a particular hull.

If you PvP long enough, you will lose your ship. It's only a matter of where and when.
If you log off in space without a log-off timer, you're only safe after thirty seconds^[Verify]... and then only until you log back in. If you log off with a log-off timer, it's either 5 minutes for a non-capsuleer timer or at least 15 minutes for a capsuleer timer, which will be renewed if you are shot. Bottom line, once a fight has started, don't log off. You'll only die anyway.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills than you, more experience than you, is smarter than you, has more friends than you and can stay online longer than you. Hope that they are not out to get you. And remember that you might be that person for someone else.