I was wondering why I"m not allowed to post in pretty much all areas other than this help section??

 

There are only a few areas that are restricted to new members as explained in the announcement posted at the top of each section as well as sections that are locked out to all members due to either being formal announcement/article based sections or sections having formal subsections which should be used.

The announcement below explains the new user restrictions:

Announcement: New Member Restrictions