Please do not post the same thing multiple times. The board software automatically flags certain posts as needing moderator attention. This happens the most often for new users. I'm pretty sure this is made clear at the time you attempt to post. Posting the same thing over and over again just makes that many more posts the moderators have to weed through later. This makes us sad. Don't make us sad. If your post/thread doesn't appear, just wait a while. Don't post it again. If it hasn't shown up by the next day, then you can try again. I normally go through posts in the mornings, and try to check a few times throughout the day, but I'm not here 24/7. There will typically be a significant delay before posts are approved. Just be patient.
I've been on other vBulletin boards that have a "Thanks" system. Other readers can hit a button for a post and say "Thanks", and this is noted under the post, but the nice thing is that this does not bump the thread. Posters then have a stat in their profile indicating how often they have been thanked.
This is exactly the kind of thing I was thinking. Thanks for mentioning it to the admins.