As a new member, I am wondering if this is a long process, or fairly quick and painless?  I can't find anything on the site about the joining process, but seems I can't edit anything till it's complete   :)

The message will only pop up if you include URL/links. It should go away after a couple of days.

Oh I see, thank you so much!  I am indeed trying to include some links, so I will wait until that problem disappears   :)