...that there are several different ways to post?

to start a new topic use this button

found at the top and bottom of each forum and topic

to reply to a topic use this button

found at the top and bottom of each topic next to the NEW TOPIC button. you can also reply to a topic using the FAST REPLY box which appears at the bottom of each page of each topic.

to toggle the FAST REPLY box use this button

found at the bottom of each topic next to the NEW TOPIC and ADD REPLY buttons

to reply to a specific post use this button

found at the bottom of each post

to quote multiple posts in one reply use this button

found at the bottom of each post you would like to quote and then use the ADD REPLY button

...that when topics look really funny with a top post and a funny outline type tree thing below, you have probably accidentally changed your display mode. Other people have done it too. It happens.

Go to a topic and look up in the dark blue bar where the topic title is on the left - on the right there is an OPTIONS button. Click the arrow to get the dropdown menu. You will see DISPLAY MODE. Click on > SWITCH TO: STANDARD. That should make it look the way you want and there you go.

...that the little dude next to each screen name in posts signifies whether or not that member is currently logged-in? If the dude is greyed out , the member is not logged-in but if the dude is wearing a spiffy red shirt , that member is logged-in. The dude also appears in a couple different places but means the same thing and there you go.

...that these signify topics on which you have posted? Other topics will display with a file folder. At the bottom of each forum topic listing there is a legend with the various other symbols. You can not change these. They signify the status of the topic and are set by the system. The yellow one means that there are new posts since you last visited the thread and the grey one means there are no new posts since your last visit. The little guy (mini-you) can be handy if you are making a quick pass through the forum and just want to check in on topics you have posted on and there you go.

...that if you click on that little downward pointing arrow next to the topic title that it will take you to the first unread post? That can be a handy little thing so there you go.

...that when looking at a forum topic listing if you click on the underlined number in the REPLIES column a window will pop up with the names of everyone who has posted in that topic and how many times they have posted? I am not sure why you would want to know that but there you go.