is this going somewhere?

Rugre - my take on this is that Illyriad is not a fast paced, lots of constant excitement sort of game. It's more about building up your presence and strength (while having some fun on the way with NPC's/other players/global chat/tourneys etc.) and then using what you've built to achieve your aims (conquest, trade, diplomacy etc).  That style of game suits some people and does not suit others.

In addition this game is still relatively new and that has both advantages and disadvantages. On the downside it means that some of the cool stuff is simply not here yet, but on the upside everyone here has the opportunity to suggest new things and the developers are hugely active in seeking opinion and ideas about what to add next and how it should work.

So from my perspective, this game is already very good but it's getting better and better all the time.

Thanks for suggestions. Call me a stubborn dwarf, yes I do want more action, but don't want to be buying into someone else's fights by joining their alliance.
When I do join an alliance it will be because that serves my strategic interest. And when I do, I want my allies to be near me, but I don't want to move to where they are clustered. That is why i need a tool find out alliance villages, from my experience from other games, alliances spread too thin tend to be very weak (and uninterested) in effectively helping their members militarily, regardless off how big they are.
Without this tool, it will be extremely difficult for me to choose an alliance to join

If you join a newbie training alliance, you'll gain valuable experience in not only the game but typical alliance behavior.  More to the point, you'll not be expected to stay, but rather to use the alliance as a stepping stone for learning about the various human factions and political climate while you prepare yourself to fit comfortably in a future permanent home.

When you join a training alliance, you're not expected to "buy into their fights," but just grow and be an active factor in the game as a whole.  In cases like Toothless, military power is primed at all times to completely fight your battles for you, provided you don't start them.  Conversely, however, you are expected not to fight, even in defense of other alliance members.  Training alliances exist solely to benefit their members and expect nothing in return save that the game grows as a whole.

After all, nobody is happy about all the inactives.

Thats why this isn't a tipical game Kumo 

@HonouredMule: thanks for the input on what is (and is not) expected of a member of a training alliance ... made me rethink the whole thing ... still cautious because might mean I become a target for other alliance ... decisions decisions :-)

@Kumumoto: I was able to figure out the rankings of alliances, and had the pleasure of reading the history of your interaction with that White fellow ... diablito i think ... a long while ago ... highly entertaining :-P. Fully aware of your power and approach to the game ... refreshing btw :-)

Love the new strategic overview map, very sexy stuff!