[OOC] Learning about AOs backstory

My apologies in advance if this is not the place for this question but I wasn't sure where to post.

I have been playing Anarchy Online since around March 2004. To be perfectly honest, I have never really cared all that much about the backstory behind the game. I stayed in AO because of its complexity, community and overall game enjoyment. That being said, I always felt that I had a basic understanding of what was going on in the game.. it didn't seem to be all that complex. Admittedy, I never truly understood what shadowlands was all about (another dimension? another time? .. didn't know/didn't care) and would always get REALLY confused everytime I would read the quest text to obtain inferno boots.

That being said, I would like to get up to speed after playing this game for 5 years. Where do I start? I don't mind reading, but I have no idea where to get the information I need so that I can understand 'current' events. Since Xan brings tons of new quests, I'd like to actually understand them rather than mindless 'fetch' tasks just for axp or phats.

Any assistance would be appreciated :) I haven't done any research, I just figured it would be easier to ask the roleplay community since many of you are experts on the subject.

Thanks in advance

Edit: Let me also state that I am one of the people that always reads quest text so I'm not completely noob to the storyline. There are some key things, however, that are not 'fitting' for me and I want to get clarity.

Hello and Welcome!

There is the Official Anarchy-Online Novel Prophet without Honour. Great for setting up the AO Storyline. It spans from the Cold War to roughly 29475.

There is the Official AO Timeline.

For recent news there is the Editor News forums which publish news from the Independent Reporters of Rubi-Ka (IRRK), the Omni-Tek Press Corp (OTPC) and the Free Journalists of Rubi-Ka (FJRK).

One of the former ARK Event's Directors posted This Guide as a primer on the storyline.

Lastly, the best way to learn about the Storyline is to get involved in Rimor's most fabulous Roleplaying Community!

If you have any specific questions, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Thank you so much. Lots of great information! I will get started today.

Any time :)

Nice to see you get involved :) I had hoped to pique your interest.

The awesome thing about AOs storyline is that it's not just backstory, it's dynamic and constantly changing. Every player affects the storyline in their own way, from interacting with the ARK-controlled blue-named characters to bashing at a tower or two. And lots of players form their own initiatives and develop their own stories within the world.

It's also largely open to interpretation and speculation which leaves the door wide open for nearly any kind of role you'd like to play within the story.

Trousers linked some great stuff to get to know some of the background ideas. A couple of things I would add though are The Story So Far, which kind of sets the scene for the game. Also 'The people' which gives some info about some (but not all) of the major storyline characters from Omni, The Clans and neutrals.

And if you're fed up with all the stuff to read, the animated series is a fun little story... with Pumpkinheads! :D

Even if you're only interested in the quest stories, hopefully the new quests will give some nice hints about the relationship between the Unicorns and Dust Brigade, the Aliens and Xan. Stuff that's only been speculated on before. Or at least that's what Means suggested.