Beginner on Lichess, should I just jump in?

I'm fairly new to playing chess, I'd say my elo rating is at ~450. Not sure about Glicko. Should I just start playing people, should I participate in tournaments, play against Stockfish? I'm afraid of getting crushed immediately. :(

I'm assuming you know the moves and rules. You should start by learning the basics i.e tactical patterns - pins,skewers , forks. You should also learn common mating patterns and about the various stages in a game - openings, middlegames and endgames .

This is a great video about opening principles - http://en.lichess.org/video/C_hJS29_IUk?q=beginner

Take a look at some basic checkmates -in the endgame - http://en.lichess.org/video/lcP-EY_3Wxc?q=beginner

Solving tactics is very important. Basic tactics -
http://chesslessons4beginners.com/tactics/lesson_9_tricks_basic_tactics.htm

Get familiar with algebraic notation - www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mp4LTSAOQA

Alternatively the first chess book I ever owned was Chernev's Logical Chess: Move by Move but you should get that only after you learn all of the above.

Play rapid games. I'd recommend 15+10 – the increment is very important: it's always better a game *not* decided on time, especially if you want to improve. And please, don't even think about bullet and blitz, at least, until you get pretty good... Also, play Chess960 (w/ rather long time controls plus increment, naturally). Seriously, Chess960 is excellent for imagination! ;-)
Afraid of getting chrushed? Well... "You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player." — José Raúl Capablanca

I misspelled 'crushed'... My bad! =P
Sometimes I really wished I could edit this...

Is post editing becoming a running gag on lichess forums ;)

Studying and implementing opening principles will definitely boost your rating, followed by tactical training. The point of the opening is to optimize your pieces for the middlegame, while establishing (or attempting to establish) some sort of advantage in the form of space or development. Finally you want to get your king safe, which usually means castling, so that he avoids the fireworks to come :). Good luck!

There's a good chance you're underrating yourself at 450. Just play some games and see where you land :)

Don't be afraid of being crushed. I get crushed all the time and keep coming back for more.

Jump in and take as many loses as you can, the more mistakes you make the faster you will learn.
Also dont play blitz bullet tournaments, its fast and people are pretty strong there 1400 1500 at least, plus they play the time not the board
You will feel overwhelm at the beginning but with practice you will understand the squares how the knight moves when to push pawns and things will come together.
Dont try to see inmediate results, chess is a long term sport
play e4 open the board and go for tactics until your mind gets accustomed to patterns, rook files, etcetera
and do analysis after your games, also read the forum
as many of your potential questions have probably been asked.
It may seem like a lot but if you take it with patience you will improve much.
Good luck and have fun, see you around.

u can look at my graph in profile

i started playing in November 2014

http://ru.lichess.org/@/orionchess

Just try to have fun bro.

Wins and losses will come and go ;D