not sure at all what im doing wrong, I read the notes to start the nord raider quest for instance but it just wont

is this a common issue? i couldnt find any other threads about it.

also, i dont use any other mods, whats the best UI mod?

What's the Nord raider quest? The Skyrim Bandit's quest? OOO's quests do not start immediately. You need to do a specified thing for the popup to appear. In the case of the Skyrim Bandits quest (which is what I think you are talking about), visit the camp near DragonClaw Rock. Search for a female with a cape and cool armor. Kill her. Or you could read the posters in Bruma to start the quest from the beginning.

As far as the best UI mod, that's subjective. But you may want to try DarNified UI or DarkUI'd DarN. In my opinion, those are the best.

Please, post in the OOO thread. There are two of them. Search "Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul". If a mod has its own official thread(s), use that.

yeah the skyrim bandit one. I have read the posters in bravil and taken some letter from a desk in the barracks, neither works!

ill move this to the ooo thread though, thanks for the UI tips

You should get a quest update after reading the poster IIRC. Don't think I've ever heard of the issue so it's not common. Which version of OOO are you running? Update to http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1119240-relz-oscuros-oblivion-overhaul-133/ (or preferably 1.34 Beta 5) if you haven't already.

EDIT: Yes, reading the Report To Bruma Citizens and Visitors should trigger a script that gives a quest popup/entry. So either you're running an older release that might have had an issue with this or something else is up.