few questions about playing online

Pausing is allowed, the default being a limit of 10 pauses per match. This can be changed by a quick edit to a config file and doesn't cause any compatibility issues with people who don't have it changed (it only looks at the host, IIRC). You can't chat in-game while paused, so it's probably a good idea to warn people first!

There's no real ranking system, but you can look at player details and it will show their wins and their losses as well as total games played. If they have many more games played than combined wins and losses, that's usually a good sign that they either like to quit a lot, or have connection issues and the like.

Well, since Sins is strictly P2P, it basically runs as slow as the slowest player. That is to say, latency is an issue and someone with very poor latency will likely lag the game for everyone. That said, for people with broadband connections even being in different countries isn't that much of an issue, it's not quite like an FPS where a 200-300 ping will get you killed

Can't answer 1) and 2) since I don't actually play online anymore

You should be able to beat a couple Hard AI in a free-for-all game (with Locked Teams so that they can't gang up on you, of course).  At a minimum you want to be familiar with the basic mechanics of the game--how to upgrade a planet's population, how to take neutral extractors (the ones in asteroid belts and around gas giants where you can't colonize).  Also, you should be comfortable enough with it that you know your starting moves so that you don't need to think about what to do at the very start of the game.  (Ie, Build a capital ship factory, order the building of extractors, order up your first (free) capital ship (should be a mothership that can colonize), roll out two or three scouts and start scouting around, then send the capital ship to colonize the asteroid.)

I also suggest playing with and becoming familiar with all three races and learning their strengths and weaknesses.  FYI, the TEC is the weakest faction and few experienced players choose to play TEC online.  (In other words, I suggest that you learn to play either Vasari or Advent)

If you can do all of that you'll be ahead of your average new online player.  I think that's really just about all that you can do to prepare for it since playing against humans is a very different game from playing against the AI.  I suggest investing in increasing the size of your fleet and NOT focussing on a long-range economy strategy.  (Trade ports won't help you when you're dead.)  Also, spend some time reading threads in the strategy forums.  When you come online you'll find a mix of skill levels from heavily experienced players to mediocre players and even new players.

Sometimes.  You can always ask if someone would put up a humans v. AI game (aka "comp stomp") which is a nice way to enjoy other people's company while you learn the game.

I rarely see anyone do it and I don't do it.  Best bet is to hit the can and get drinks and snacks before the game starts.

Unfortunately, no.  There is a win-loss record, but an experienced player could always just create a new player name and join the game lobby with a 0-0 record.  Those guys are called "smurfs".  I wouldn't get too hung up about that, though.  When you join a game, before it starts you can politely request that the teams be balanced if you see a bunch of good players all on the same team (or just take off before the game starts and wait for the next match to form).

Since it isn't an FPS ping isn't a huge issue.  However, it is possible that a single player could lag to the host and lag the game.  Sometimes it can be a problem.  The best thing that you can do is to try not to lag yourself.  Close all other programs and especially stop any downloads or anything else that uses bandwidth before you start the match.

There are a couple jerks out there but for the most part I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how collegial most of the players are.  It's definitely not as bad as communities I've known for the first person shooter game I play.

Log onto Ironclad Online (not the Multiplayer LAN button) and come check it out.

One problem with the game is that sometimes it can crash resulting in a "Minidump" and people dropping out of games early-on as a result.  Another problem is that you probably won't be able to host games.  To host you need to configure your router for Port Forwarding (see the sticky threads in the Technical forum).  The 1.1 patch is going to fix the game so that anyone can host regardless of whether or not they've futzed around wtih their router.

Welcome to the Sins Online Multiplayer community.  I play as WHIPperSNAPper and DirtySanchez, so if you see me feel free to say Hello.

Just a quick run down on the communications commands.  To talk you hit <ENTER>.  To chat with your allies, it's <ENTER> /a.  To send a private message it's /w <name> (need quotes " around names with spaces in them).  To chat with all friends who are online it's /f.  You can also <ENTER> <TAB> and press Tab repeatedly until you see what you want--great for whispering to people with difficult names.

thnaks for the very detailed replies , that's been a good help . I'll give it another week off singleplayer (not getting to play much at moment due to work) and then try it online .