You're right that P99 does have a lonely feel by default. Everyone eventually realizes it's better to play alone than to group. Just play a min/max class and solo camp items 50+, solo for exp, etc. The only reason to talk to others is to raid. Equipment isn't worth getting because it's easier to just level higher which gives more platinum and easier ability to camp things yourself. This isn't classic but it is the way things are at the moment. Experience rates are non-classically high resulting in a higher level average. Channeling spells is too successful making it too easy for casters to solo especially in dungeons. The other big part is live EQ had 2-3k players at a time and P99 has 1k on Green. I played here back when there was 200 players though and it was still fine.
That is the default situation though. Here is some actual practical advice.
1. Join a guild. It's just the way it is. People don't talk in ooc because they're talking to their guilds and usually in something like Discord not even in game. They're using voice chat talking to guild mates and not even reading chat. Find a guild that is a "leveling" or casual guild as it's easiest to get groups and be involved.
2. If you're LFG don't ask in ooc and then give up. Actually move to the camps especially if you know others are there and ask them directly if you can join. Again many people don't read the chat but if they see you walk up to them and stand there they'll read it. Also send tells. People setup alerts on their logs for when they get tells and such. It can be different than ooc even beyond the text color and such.
3. Make your own groups. There are a ton of players out there who are sitting around with "nothing to do" and feel the way you do. Use /who all and find people to make a group. Start by finding a Druid/Wiz and then you can tell others you have a porter to bring them to the group. You can pretty much never fail to at least find a trio doing this. Yeah it's great to have the social MMO experience of just running into random people doing interesting things you can join in on but you won't always get it.
4. If you're new to P99 there is likely a lot going on that you don't understand. Personally I almost never group and have no guild but I get a lot of in game socialization because I know the game. I know the best camps for the level ranges I'm playing at and you run into others there. These spots are often a bit obscure and beyond just "X dungeon." You say the places you try "have exp" but that is a lot different from the best exp. Right now I'm sitting deep in a dungeon where I'm bound between multiple named mobs. This is a hot spot most players know nothing about. Everytime I login there are people here splitting the camps, PLing, and so on. Again we're way back in a dungeon you can't even get here solo unless you're a skilled player. You need to know how things work on P99 and where the real hot spots are.
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