This section is a forum, not the chat room. Its not real time. If you want real time chat you need to enter the chat room separately. To do this, go back to the main page you first started on (click the top left corner, site logo) and you will see a big blue button that says 'Chat now!'. This takes you to real time chat.
And the site is pretty simple, for the most part. The thing i've noticed is many people glance over things, without taking the time to stop and read what things do. Also, at the top of the New Users forum is a 'how to' thread.