Hiya Longrover

*clears her throat* lemme take a stab at this....

The color dots next to a poster's name is their status... whether they're 'online in the forums'

The tags "newbie, member, ect." are set by either post counts or by you. Mine is currently set to 'curiously coy' by me. The way to change them is to pop into your User CP (User Control Panel) and enter in the desired title in the appropriate spot.

I hope I've helped a lil bit .... and hope I've not stepped on any toes in the process...