Its hard to break the ice sometimes, There so much limited benefit in alot of situations for groups in this game that it causes isues. I say that based on a few small things. For example, when you got great XP in a full group of leve links like you used to, I builtmy friends list up bigtime with all the folks I met while leveling my classes. That was also, in my opinion, the best way to get good LS hook ups as well.

OP mentions alot of people point out they are soloing or doing this or that when he speaks to them. Again, I say its all about getting the ice broke. Alot of the solid player base thats been here for a while has a few LS, and a built friends list. The have a full plate, so they aren't really on the look out for new friends. I say that to emply that its not always players being cold to you personally.

As well, the discussion about a search function is dead on. I was baffled by SEs discission to slack in that area when I started. This day in the MMO era, its not just a good idea, Is a MUST HAVE, to have a search function for groups and what not. I your going to build an MMO, you really need to have everything out there you can offer that helps players connect. A good start for that, and what should be a foundation in any MMO is a player search and registry system.