I can't look at profiles or send messages. Is it because I'm new? Or do I need to post more? Can someone explain it to me? Thanks. :-[
Yes, you need more posts. (Creating topics does not give you posts)
In order to help discourage spammers, preventing profiles from being seen and preventing instant messages from being sent until one has been a regular participant (a handful of good posts/comments/replies) has been implemented.