There is a fair chance that the first person you meet will kill you, so when you have developed a character to the stage you would rather they stayed alive for a while, send an alt out to do the diplomacy thing. Also a lot of players don't really need to leave the safety of their walls now as at this stage there is very little you can forage which is worth more than what you can grow.
Bear in mind also that people might be active at different times to you, if you see crops that are at an intermediate stage of growth at a settlement or animals that still have food, leave a runestone with contact details.