Fariel

I'm looking to get in to modding Minecraft again but I'm not too sure about the scene. I modded about 3-4 years ago before I knew Forge was a thing. Actually, thinking back, I'm not even sure if Forge was a thing back then. Anyways, I've been playing some FTB modpacks and whatnot -- I'm sure this is all a story you've heard before -- and it made me want to get back in to it now that there are new tools and resources available. But I'm honestly a little apprehensive. Here's why: MC 1.8 released over a year ago, and the current version is 1.8.8. The most recent Forge version is 1.8. This has me worried. Most mods and packs I've seen have stayed at 1.7.2. I don't know why and that also has me worried. Rumor has it that 1.9 is coming within a month. I don't want to get started on a mod and have to make a large overhaul to update to a new major release. I'm having trouble finding reliable resources that don't tell me how to do four things: "Get started", "Create a mod", "add a block", and "add an item/recipe." This also has me worried because Forge is an entirely foreign environment to me and Minecraft has changed a lot since I last looked at it. I'm basically starting over - and I can't find reliable tools. I'm also noticing the forums here seem to be kind of slow-going. This implies to me that there isn't very much activity in the modding community -- unless everyone hangs out somewhere else. Again, somewhat worrisome. So... does anybody have any information regarding these concerns? Should I just get started or would it be better to wait a month or so?