Quilava

To add to this answer, keep in mind you may only change your name 3 times every 30 days (I believe as a subscriber it's 3 times per 15 days).

Typically, if the account has gone through with enough actions as to warrant a permanent banning, there is very little that can be done, such as mod disputes/etc. 
It may be possible to have a perm ban lifted, however past consequences weigh heavy on that decision. Always worth the try though.

Combining these two posts into one as they pretty much sum up the answer to your question. If you feel as though you are unsure whether or not it will be okay to post the video, you can always pm a staff member and have them look it over. If they give the okay to the video, then you are free to post it, if not, then you are obviously restricted from doing so and expected to observe their judgement.

If you want to appear as a guest you just simply have to not be signed in. Of course, not being signed in means you won't be able to post in threads. etc etc. There used to be a way of signing in anonymously, however, I'm not sure if that feature will be re-implemented. 

As you post more and more in sub-forum threads where posts count (AKA anywhere except Cloudsdale Colosseum, where posts are very rapidly made in threads like Forum Games and Forum lounge,  and Role-Play World) your rank will adjust and be promoted according to the amount of posts you have. The first rank up is at 5 posts in which you will become the "Muffin" rank. 
 
For anymore info on how many more posts you'll be needing for the next rank up,  you can click on the badge just beneath your avatar and a guide will pop up with every rank possible and their required post counts.

To add onto/clarify what Sky Chaser said, some people have it so their friends list requires a bit of choice into who's on it by way of approval, declination, or just letting the request sit in the queue to possibly be approved in the future. So just because you "added" someone onto your friends list, doesn't mean they've done the same to you. When someone approves your request, if you have it set up to, you will receive a notification saying they've done so.
 
And, like Sky Chaser said, if the person in question IS on your friends list and you're still not receiving the proper notifications, then it'll be wise to file a support ticket to get everything sorted out~

Instant notifications are run off an app in the console. However, from time to time, this feature will go down and will either restart of its own accord, or will have to be restarted manually by a sysadmin. Seeing as how notifications in themselves still work in general, the sysadmins "probably" have a low priority on this sort of thing and let it restart itself.
 
Given time, the immediate/instant notifications will be back.

Since you're new here, I'll start this off with a friendly Welcome!
 
There are two methods for adding images to your signature: using direct links from an off-site image hoster and using the img bbc code or adding them via attachments from "My Media".
 
(If you don't know how to get to your signature editor, go to your settings, then click on signature)
 
 
If you're going to use the off-site method, then take the direct link of your image given to your by the host site, and input it using either
 

 
Or
 
 
  If you want to use attachments (which can be good as the "my media" folder holds all of your attachments for quick and easy access), then head over to any thread, and click on the "Upload Files + More Reply Options"     Once on the full editing page, head down to the bottom and click "Choose File", after choosing, click on "Attach This File". Once attached, head back to your signature editing page, click on "My Media" and then select your image. After that, you'll image will be input into your signature!    
Hope this helps you out~

If you want to use an image in your signature, 
 
first make sure that is within the specific dimensions of your group (seeing as your a normal member, you can have signatures with dimensions up to 600px by 100px).
 
Then go to your signature editor
 
  Then, if you're using an external image site to host your image, then copy the direct link of the image, and paste it within the "Insert Image" tool.  
 
Hope this helps you~

That is called a signature. You can also add text to it as well.
 
All you have to do is go to your settings and click the "Signature" tab:
 
  Then just add whatever you want (within the specifications stated near the top of the page). If you want to add an image then:    
Hopefully this answers your question

When you go to edit your original post (down near the bottom of the post), there is a button in the editor called "Use Full Editor"
 
Seen here:

 
When you click that, you will have full access to your thread and will be able to change the topic header.
 
Hope this helps.

To input any image into your signature:
 
Head over to your settings and click on the Signature tab

 
 
Then, direct url (if you're using an off-site image hosting like photobucket or imgur), click on the lil icon that looks like a tree and paste in the url. Once complete, you should have your image put into your signature.
 
Also, not sure if you're aware yet, free users, like you, have a dimension limit of 600x100, something to keep in mind
 
Hope this helps, and have a good day~

The server, for the time being is down. This was primarily due to low population of the forums at the time and the servers not being able to "sustain themselves".
 
Hopefully, if poniverse grows to a good enough size, servers can be opened up.
 
Explanations can be found in this thread and this one 

You must reach the Muffin rank (5 posts) to be able to edit your signature.
 
Once you reach that rank, go under your settings and click on the tab labeled "Signature"
 
 
 
 
Once there you can edit your signature to your liking.

The "off-topic" Secion could be either:
 
The Everfree Forest section (found here), which is the main off-topic (non-pony) section. Ranging from general areas of discussion, to media/gaming/literature/etc.
 
You also have the Forum Lounge, (found here), which is a more lax, if you will, version of the Everfree forest section (though posts in here do NOT count towards your total)

I think I can help you out here.
Here are some articles that may help you out;
 
For information about the Forum, check out the MLP Forums Offical Resource Map as well as the Help Files. The Help Files can also teach you how to create a blog here if you don't know how already. For info on where certain posts belong, check out the Posting Guide.
 
Hope this helps you to learn the ropes of this place 

To have the image show while using a link, click on the image icon (is a picture of a tree underneath Text fill and the emoticons)
 
Highlighted here
 
 
 
Then simply paste in the link and click ok.
Now you should have your image shown.
Hope this helps you out~