My idea is to have a separate spawn area for first time players. There could be a warp to it for reference though. This starter room will have all the rules on the wall. One of the things that are important for this is what is and isn't allowed to be traded, sold, etc. Many times I've seen players asking about what shops sold items that were illegal. They didn't know that those items were illegal though. If there was a separate room that had all the rules, this would happen less often.
But at the regular spawn, its an open area. People might get distracted easily by other things and will probably stop reading after finding out how to start an island. The separate room will have just the rules. After they have read the rules, they will go to regular spawn and learn how to make a new island. Something like that
Well, they don't want to read the rules they'll get baned. Also, you can put the rules BEFORE showing the new players how to make a island