Hello :)

[SacreDoom]

Never ever go afk outside a house or a cave, never ever go afk while being on a boat, these two things can lead to a sudden death.

or even better: never go afk, just so you wont load the damn server >_>

says the one with bots and altfarm

Lol ninja'ed.

[Grog]

Be prepared for heartbreak, failure, and betrayal. Be ready for when your neighbor crashes into your home, shatters your cupboards, and threatens your life. Do not hide from these things -- not yet. They are necessary. If you hide from them, you will never meet the wonderful people that live around you and thrive. You will never learn how necessary it is to defend what you hold dear, to protect those who are precious to you. Revel in the searing pain as you witness them take the dried hides out of your tanning tubs before they were finished, only to dump them into the lake laughing.

There will be people who tear vicious words into your lawn. There will also be people who will help you grass away the obscenities and move on. Be ready to accept while learning how to be cautious at the same time. It's difficult to do and requires much practice, so get it while you're fresh and new -- when you can afford to lose everything.

Get Yeomanry as soon as you can though and build palisades around your land. Seal your cornerposts and make sure that your walls are claimed. Never open the gate for others or leave it open. Keep the key on a separate character, preferably on another account. This way you cannot lose it to thieves or death. The wiki is your best friend =)
http://ringofbrodgar.com/wiki/Haven_and_Hearth_Wiki

If you need any more help with anything, the search function is wonderful. If that fails you, come visit the How Do I section.

i nearly dropped a tear when i read this. we should add this to the welcome/"How-To" section or let tek redo it completly. needs to be redone a bit anyway

[Halagaz]

Stop being that paraniac honestly and scare people, i have a guy not wanting to leave my palisade and eating apple since the begining of the world so he can 'build" some skills and "defend" himself (perma death wooooooo), so in fact he is in waiting mode, will never be able to defend himself because he is so slow learning the game and i don't even understand where he will find the fun needed to play the game further.

So ill give opposite advise, at the begining wander the world as much as possible, learn to build a boat and just travel. You don't need a home with a palisade the first month, you'll probably set in a not that good place if you do so and will probably have to do it again. Try to learn about your neightbours, the activity of the place you travel in. And when you feel confident, then settle in. For sure you can always join a village, its not a bad option at all, but if you prefer to learn the game solo i don't think my advises are bad at all.

Use a custom client tought.

[cloakblade]

Use a custom client thought.

[sabinati]

Use a custom client though.

if you're gonna correct someone, go all the way

[Tsukistar]

Collect leeches from swamps. The second number in your health bar is the hard hitpoints. They act as a maximum, and when you are unconscious, getting hit takes away from them. The only way to heal them is with a gauze, which you get when you start getting sheep/auroch (Correct me if I'm wrong), or with leeches. Leeches hit your soft hitpoints, the first number, but sometimes heal the hard hitpoints. If your soft hitpoints get low, take leeches off.

You can get leeches if you go through a swamp or marsh, they latch onto you and you can throw them in your inventory for later use. After a leech consumes 10 hp, it bloats and cannot be used for awhile.

EDIT:If you don't quite understand what I am saying, its a little easier to just look up leeches in the haven and hearth wiki.

[burgingham]

i nearly dropped a tear when i read this. we should add this to the welcome/"How-To" section or let tek redo it completly. needs to be redone a bit anyway

Should at least be quoted in every thread a newbie introduces him or herself. Nice speech indeed, TeckXKnight.