Okay, colour question has been figured out.
The colours are related to the membergroups one belongs to ....
red - me as Admin and Supreme Goddess of the Sandbox
green - regular members; come 2009, members who joined prior to Jan 2009 and who (by posting at year-end) requested to remain active.
blue - regular members; come 2009, members who have joined since Jan 2009
The stars are the same ...
big red stars - me, Admin and blah-blah-blah
big green stars - active for a second year on the forum (and yes, there will be three stars for those of you who hang around until 2010)
small yellow stars - new members, number of stars tied to number of posts
Now that I'm playing with membergroups, I may add/change them some more in the new year, but they will probably work in pretty much the same manner. If I can find a way to have the small stars and the green stars show at the same time, will do that too. But that's for rainy days when its quiet.
TPC