It is no secret that EVE has a rather steep learning curve. There are so many aspects to the game, and frequent enough updates, that a total mastery of the game seems impossible. This is compounded by the competitive aspects of the game. The competitive nature of EVE makes sharing certain information extremely unprofitable. For example, if a station trader mentored a new EVE player and shared his insights into the market, his mentee would immediately become a competitor and cut into his profits. So when you combine the elements of a huge game with many complex systems that interconnect, frequent changes to those complex systems, and players unwilling to share what they know, we find ourselves in a pretty sorry state of affairs.
A good example of a recent change that many people are still unaware of
are the new mobile structures. Just this week alone, I have watched 4
EVE mission runners streaming on Twitch.tv that had no idea about the
mobile tractor unit. These mobile structures were one of the biggest
features of the latest expansion and had been talked about for months
before Rubicon, and there are still people that don't know about them.
There are several groups that have tried to gather knowledge and share it freely. Their work is admirable, but much of it is either so basic as to be unhelpful, or is woefully outdated. There is a popular mining guide that was written in 2006 that many people still use when getting started with mining. It was updated a few times, but the last update was in 2007. Since then, there have been significant changes to how mining works, such as the introduction of the Venture mining frigate, the complete revamp of Mining Barges and Exhumers, the introduction of the Orca industrial command ship, the removal of mining bonuses from all non-ORE faction ships, the addition of the mining foreman mindlink implant to several LP stores, and the new mineral refine rates of null sec ores. Yet this guide is still treated like gospel, and is the first result on Google when you search for "EVE mining guide".
Unhelpful players are the most vexing of all. I run level 4 missions, and I am always on the lookout for information about mission ships and fits. I ask other mission runners about their ships all the time, and they refuse to tell me anything. I have gone so far as to offer an isk reward for an experienced mission runner to take me on as their apprentice so that I would assume all the risk in the relationship, and 3 months later, I still have no mentor and I am stuck looking at shitty Tengu fits on Battleclinic. I would love for an experienced mission runner to give me some pointers as to what ship I should be training toward, but instead I have to figure it out myself using the trial and error method and billions of isk. I do not understand why an experienced mission runner won't take my isk in exchange for their knowledge, especially since there is literally no downside for them. It's not like I can steal their missions.
