So much for saving Rick some time... 
Some questions, what are post islands?Post Islands aka content islands are the boxes you see on the left and right - you can create your own and put whatever content you'd like in them. See my forum for an example of placing Google or other ads. See: CP > Custom Islands
Can I get RSS news to a specified forum?You can set up RSS feeds for any/all forums. See: CP > RSS Feeds
Can I search inside a topic?You can search specific forums or all forums. Also search by Member. You
might be able to search a particular thread if you include the thread title with your search term. I think Search needs a little more work, but I'm hoping it'll be fine-tuned as the software grows.
I have put member ratings and topic ratings on, where do I rate a topic? I have turned it on in the ACP, but I don't see any "Rate Topic" nor "Rate Member".At the top of each thread you'll see a "Rate this Topic" pulldown. I don't have "Rate Member" enabled, but I assume it'd be in the pulldown when clicking on the person's name next to a post. (There are a few neat shortcuts in those pulldowns, actually)
Can I get more stuff to show beside each post? Such as MSN/AIM or something simular or custom profile fields or fields that user has edited?All those fields are displayed in a person's profile. You can pretty easily add them under their names in posts with edits to the appropriate templates.
Can I make custom profile fields?There is space for a few extra fields already built in. Check out your own profile options and preferences.
How to for example hide avatars for guests? Where do I find that permission system?Hmmm... can't seem to find that for only Guest users. I thought it was in an earlier version. But you may be able to set that in Group permissions?
Also is there a rating system for user's post? Can I show the rating/karma beside each post?Just Topics and Member Ratings at this point. I don't even use Member Ratings because it could cause ill-will and hurt feelings. I'm sure the same about Post Ratings, if it was an option.
