1) Yes, the orange color means Snoink is retired. She's still around, but isn't as active (she just got married, so she's busy with real-world stuff). Light green mods are current Junior Moderators, responsible for a certain part of the site, and Global Moderators (dark green) moderate the whole site. Red names are admins, and Nate (the founder) is black. If you have any questions, you can ask me or any of the green names. An updated list of staff can be found here: theteam.php
2)Story ratings: Yes, you should rate your stories appropriately, especially if they are 16+ or 18+(has f-word or extreme graphic content). I don't know if it's still true that 18+ stories don't end up on the front page (that post was written in 2009, and the site has undergone a lot of change since then).
To get your work featured (the scrolling box on the home page), it has to get the most "Likes" in the past 24 hours.
Hope that helps! Once again, welcome and HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S YOUR GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!
