auto forums questions

this might sound a little stupid. but i just started here. and i see next to my sn there is a colored cricle... the color illudes me. and there are stars below my name now... what are those for? is it like ebay when you get so far more stuff opens up? or is it for looks?

the colored circle at the bottom? the green one? that just means you're online.

the stars are there to just show how much of a frequent you are, like the post count. all stars means ur a mod, purple stars means you've donated to AF