in order....

• You need to create the cookie, then print the cookie...It looks like you should be getting duplicate header/cookie lines there - the "print $q->header(-cookie...)" *should" do exactly the same as your next two print statements. If not, try "$q->header({-cookie=>$initcookie})" - I've known some versions of CGI.pm not like named params unless they're an anon. hash.
• Yes - you can print the "Content-type" header, set your cookie, then print the cookie, as you can do above simply by moving the $initcookie initalisation down two lines. If you do this, you don't need to use $q->header();
• If you mean the 'Monastery Gates' (the front page), then only certain questions make it on there - particularily interesting, informative or challenging ones usually. If you mean the "Seekers Of Perl Wisdom" section, then occasionally there may be a delay while your question is 'approved' - or maybe deleted if the question is seen as irrelevant / non-perl / flaming etc.
• I don't *think* there's an email bot around - but in your 'preferences' you can tick the "show me when I get a response to posts" box though to receive notifications in the Chatterbox

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Ben