Beginners Guide to Role Play by @Lady Amalthea - Has common terms and another walk through of what's down below.

Deciding your Level:
So now that you're new, you obviously want to get started. But where? The first step is deciding which section you'd like to join. (If you already know, you can skip this part.) We have three scales for determining your comfort level. Mahz has defined them loosely on the main page.

Some people/GMs even make further distinctions in levels.

**See individual GM for RP specific standards
A lot of RPs within specific sections have more specific standards than the general ones listed by Mahz. It's always good to check to see what the GM has listed to make sure you meet the standards and/or are okay with them.

Group RPs v. 1x1s:
Once you determine which level you want to RP at, it's time to find something that interests you. There are two main options for this. Participating in a Group RP or a One on One (1x1).

Finding an RP:
The first step in finding an RP is to check interest checks. These can be found in multiple places around the site. For example if you're interested in a 1x1 you'd go to the 1x1 Interest Checks. It's found in the 1x1 section.

You can browse through by title and/or tags to see if anything strikes your fancy. The thing that makes the 1x1 section so different from all the other sections is at all the active RPs in that section are considered closed. You can only find new ones through the interest check section.

Going from the Interest Check section to the Roleplays with ease. At the top, just under the page toggle, there are two tabs. One for Roleplays and the other for Interest Checks. These tabs are there so you can flip between the two without going back to the main page.


For the Group RPs you can search for newly started, or haven't started yet RPs in the interest check section. These are found in the General Interest Checks, Free Interest Checks, Casual Interest Checks, and Advanced Interest Checks. Unlike the 1x1 section, active RPs are not automatically closed. The best, and easiest way to tell is through the RP Status. There are three status: Full, Apply and Jump-In.

Full- Not taking anymore people. The GM might decide to change that at a later point, or they might not.
Apply- The GM is taking new characters. However, sometimes a GM forgets to change the status, so it's always best to inquire first.
Jump-In- No need to ask, or make a character sheet. Just join at any time! (Mainly found in the Free Section)

But wait you say. What about the Tabletop, Nation and Arena sections?
These are specialized areas. They're for very specific RPs. These sections are not separated by the categories of Free-Advanced.

Setting Up Your Own Game:
Since there are good guides out there already done, just follow any of the links below.
On GMing, creating and running RPs, and handling unforeseen issues
Formatting Interest Checks and the First OOC Post
Creating a Good Roleplay
Setting Up Stories

About GM-ing:
Nine Stages of Modding
Stuff I've Learned About being A Mod

Making a Character:
Five Steps to make a perfectly solid character
Formatting a character sheet 101
So You Wanna Make A Character Sheet?

Personal Messages/Conversations, or PMs, are a private way to chat with other guild members. This system is currently under work by Mahz, so there may be some major changes soon.

Folders:
There are only four current folders. Inbox, Starred, Archived and Trash.
There is no easy way to mass move PMs. Nor is there a way to delete them. There might be a Trash folder, but it doesn't actually delete/trash the file.
Nor does the folder system inform you to which folder you have received a new message.

Create a new PM/Convo:
There are two ways to start a new PM.

1) Click on the PM Icon and click on "+Create Convo".

2) Click on the username of the person you want to send a PM to, then click on "Start Prive Conversation with [Username]".

The Off-Topic section is for anything other than Roleplays (or checking for interest). There are a few different categories:
Spam

Roleplaying Discussion

Off-Topic Discussion

Character Sheets

The Gallery

Articles & Guides

The chat is located at the very top of the site next to Users. You are automatically logged in with your username. There is currently no way to change your color.

The Chat Help toggle will open to give you instructions on how to use the chat (other than just writing).

mdk wrote a very nice Introduction to RPGC
Contests: There is currently only one contest running. It's in the Writing Contest Forum. You can keep track of the current contests on the main page. It will tell you the contest title and the due date.


Trophies: Are given to winners of the writing contests. Mahz is currently working on improving and adding to the system. You can see other users trophies (and your own if you have any) by going to their profile and clicking on the trophy link.


There is also a Victory Archive where you can see the works of past winners.

Your profile has many features. There is an area for Statuses, Bios, Arena Stats, Trophies, Visitor Messages, and Most Recent Posts. It also keeps track of which ratings you have received or given. This is private information that is no displayed publicly. If you go to another user's page you will not see their ratings.

There is also an option for "Old Guild Username". Since I belonged to the old Guild, you can see I added that in. Since I joined when this site first started up I'm actually not sure if that option is there anymore for new users when they join.

Editing your Profile:

On your main profile page you can edit your status and bio.

Status:

Bio:

Visitor Messages:

Uploading imagage is done through your profile. It's found next to the Trophy link.

In order to add an image you must first crate an album. Then you will be redirected to a new page that will prompt you to add an image. At which point you'll be directed back to the main page. To add more images to the same album you'll have to click on the album in question then add more images.

Images Max size: ~2 MB (2,000,000 bytes). Must be jpeg, gif, png.

To get a direct link just click on the image. The same action is also required if you desire to delete the image.

The Dice feature is located on the main page. It's found on the upper right hand corner below the Facebook link.

Or by following this link: http://www.roleplayerguild.com/campaigns

As it says on the Campaign page

The dice system is new and experimental.
You can see some of my planned dice features in the announcement thread: http://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/3612674

As of this moment only the creator of the "campaign" can roll dice. However the results of all the rolls are visible. It's a very simple system. You choose what dice to roll. E.G. 4d6 or 1d20. You can also add mods. So your roll will calculate not only the dice outcome but additions. E.G. 4d6+2 or 1d20+5

All dice rolls will be made public and they are linkable if your RP calls for it. You can also add notes to each roll. So if you have multiple RPs you are rolling for you don't have to have multiple campaigns. Unless you so desire.

Q: What is a Post Sample/Sample Post?

A: A post sample is an example of your work. If you're new to this site, but not to others, sometimes a link to older work is acceptable. Copy and Paste is also acceptable, though if the work is particularly large it's common courtesy to place it behind Hider Tags. Sometimes people will write up new samples per request. A lot of it is the askie's choice. The main thing to remember is that a sample is a showcase of your skill. You want to make sure you're not overselling or underselling. Just be yourself.