As a new player I'll provide perhaps a fair and fresh look at the current state as I've currently seen them with no previous biases spanning a decade. I've been very active for my first three days and I've roleplayed with everything from established kings, to vagabonds, to freshies just like me.
It's a mixed bag. Most - about 75% of people will give you genuine rp if you actually go out of your way to contribute something, not just a "hello".
Just yesterday I assisted in an arrest with my fellow officer and we pulled the guy into a drunk tank and we had a chat about him - and decided not to press charges on him as he was already a drunk wretch. Later, I was sat by myself in a bar. Later, that fellow officer - who was a stranger at the time bought me a drink and we had a wholesome chat. It was truly GREAT rp.
Other times- I'm flatly, and outright ignored by groups of up to 3/4 people even in a casual setting such as bars/taverns.
It just happens - nothing you can do to change that.
I also saw a guy in the Haense square the other day. There was like 20+ people there, and like 5 different interesting storylines were going on. I saw the guy log on, walk over to a chair - and sit down. Surprise surprise - no one even bothered to talk to him because he was too anxious to get up and say hello to someone so he sat in the same spot silently for 30 minutes, got bored and logged off- and that was his fault.
So in total, there are three reasons I can see why you cant find rp:
Your timing is wrong/youre not offering anything interesting. (This is the majority.)
People are chuds and wont let anyone into their clique. (A tiny minority, but it's the thing that clearly makes people the most angry when it does happen.)
You're being too nervous and blaming everyone else. (The silent majority.)
Otherwise - most of the time if you just go do something, you'll get rp. You cant just expect people to add to your experiences without adding anything in return.