People still call them that? Anyways... 29 from the US, I work full time but still play games on occasion. Being a big fan of TA back in the day I picked up PA when I saw it on steam. I haven't played an RTS game in a LONG time. I played FPS games and EVE Online for the last 10 years or so. So in short: I'm not a professional gamer, I just like games. I play evenings, mostly weekends. Steam name: Takon074 Let me know if this rusty gamer can fit in with your band!
You could definitely try out Nova, we are primarily in the US and most of us do play in the evenings. We would love to have you.
Only through lack of a better name thusfar. Uber have hinted that they want to come up with something a bit less cliché.
Trouble is the other names for them are just as bad: Isn't it Guilds in some games? I've been playing StarConflict recently and they call them 'Corporations'. I actually think to fit with PA lore you could refer to them as 'Player Factions' I suppose.
I'd be happy to give you some pointers if I catch you on-line (probably unlikely though due to time difference, I'm in the UK). I use the same tag in game.