I've been playing go on and off for over ten years now and _heartily_ recommend anyone remotely interested in learning to sign up for kgs (http://www.gokgs.com/) and download the java client. There is a fantastic community there, including a few beginner rooms. Often, people will stay after and review the game with you, which is basically a free lesson. People are consistently polite and respectful on kgs, which I can't say of other go networks (igs, for example). Additionally, it's really easy to get a quick match whenever you want with someone appropriately ranked, and it figures out your rank as you play people.

If you're going to play in person, try to play smaller boards, like 9x9, so you can get a sense of tactics and local patterns. Mark_h said it already in this thread, but I'll repeat: lose your first fifty (or more) games as quickly as possible. When you're first getting started, the goal is just to get a handle on how play progresses, not to win. Getting comfortable losing makes it easier to learn.

Web resources I can recommend: http://playgo.to/iwtg/en/ and http://senseis.xmp.net/

Please feel free to find me on kgs, username jrothstein. I'd love to help share my love of the game with other hackers. Also feel free to contact me (info in profile) with any questions about the game or for a review (I'll try my best).