And to answer your second question:

When a new person registers at these forums, they can enter the screen name of someone that told them about the site, if anyone did. For instance, if I told a friend about this place, he could register and put RSL down in the referral box.

This doesn't really do anything, normal members can only see how many people listed them as referrals, but not who did it. An admin could find out for you and let you know if it's something that you wanted to know.