Just a thought - extra perks for participating in a mission. Would encourage participation in missions with no penalty for not participating.
Yep, I can hear the cries now of 'I don't care about perks'. True, many (much better than I have 10000s of perkies, many new players don't. This would encourage them to participate in cooperative actions and provide them a way to 'meet' people.
So, we can reduce the need to beg people to participe and involve the new blood. They will be working with a group, therefore more likely to shoot someting, avoid getting shot, learn something and get involved in the community.
Regards,