What 's the "Level" next to one's username?

So does the level increase bu the number of posts. I'm still unclear. and also what is rank? I just got a star with a 2 In it.. seems like I have to rev up my posts

This would refer to your rating. The reason they tend to be so different for people in each interest, and subect, is determind by how active you are in the topic of interest, and how well people like you as in the ratings. I know for a lot of my discussions I am listed ok on some, and number one maybe for one or two. Last I knew, New York City was one of the number 1 rankings for me. So the more you post maybe the higher you will rate? Continued success to you here.

Yes, AlwayAskingWhy, it's the number of responses you have made. It does not include your own discussions. The star will appear when you reached 100 responses. The number on the star will tell you what type of quality your responses are. If it's very good you will get 10 but if you mostly answer one or two liners chances are you will get low rank. So do your best and good luck.