A few words about me, 23, from Estonia (it's in Europe, I swear). Currently serving my 8 months in Estonian Defence Forces (which means weekends only to play). Loving all sorts of sci-fi and futuristic stuff.
I remember stumbling upon this a few years ago, but stupid as I was, I never got it to work on my old PC. Now I somehow managed to find Freelancer again, not regretting it. I've been playing roleplaying games for around 5 years now, mostly GTA:SA Multiplayer ones, so thats not new to me. I read a few pages about all the lore and stories yesterday and I immidiately fell inside again. Sci-fi roleplay, what more could you ask for. I'll be trying this out for sure.
PS: Still got tons of questions to ask how things work here so feel free to hit me up on Skype if you can (kardohh).
It's always good to see new fresh meat people joining our fun-fun community. Seeing how you enjoyed roleplaying before, I'm sure you'll feel right at home here.
Kind of obligatory, but be sure to check out The Rules, if you haven't already.
Also, I can add you on Skype later to clear up any confusion you might have.