A little Green advice

[stars2heaven]

So I've been away from EQ for a long time. (maybe since 2006/7) I previously played a mage so I've decided on something that will be a bit more group centric: a shaman. I don't know anyone who plays eq and I enjoy the class so hopefully the shaman will be valued by others for grouping.

In anycase, I'm looking to really immerse myself in the whole game and experience everything I can get out of it. I doubt I will look to join a guild right away unless people here think it is a good idea, but towards end game I definitely want to raid with a guild that is dedicated to that sort of thing.

To that end is there anything in or outside of eq that I should be familiar with before going down that road? For instance I'm totally unfamiliar with third party means of communication that guilds us these days. I have literally not played group content in an mmo since I quit eq years ago.

Other than that I guess is a shaman a good choice? Is it necessary that I min/max the character? I ask because I'm not sure I want to be a troll, and that seems to be the favored race. Is it better to guild up early or let the dust settle to see what the top guilds are doing? Any advice to someone who is essentially a total newb is appreciated