Holy Noob!

[Barronosod]

Please forgive this idiotic noob question. I'm a long time fan of 4Xs, or any empire builder for that matter. I've played everything from Starflight to MOO3, but somehow I've missed SE:IV?! Anyway, the Gold edition is on it's way to me and I'm tremendiously excited. My question is if any of you recommend paticular mods, threads, links, etc. Foolish since I haven't even received the game yet, but I figure I have 4 years of catching up to do. Do you recommend trying the standard Version first, or should I skip straight to a mod. After playing the demo I grasp the basics, and understand that there'll be quite a bit more to learn as I go. I've skimmed down the "Noobies look here" thread, but do you have others that you prefer? Any kind of input is appreciated, long or short, for those who have a moment. Just trying to get up to speed.

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to joining the community.