Hi again Drew,
We will add spell check for sure. When the forum first went live we tried one plug-in that did not work. We are looking for a new one.
To make a link
select the text you want to be the anchor text, then click the insert link icon and type the url.
To create a signature, click on User CP in the top navigation. Then under Settings & Options click Edit Signature. Then type your text. Then highlight the text then click the insert link icon and type the url just like we did above.
Clear as mud?