(1) is because the W2BB Plugin transfers the HTML directly and does not convert into BBCode. If you want links you can change your line to <a href="{$purl}">There is a new article here</a>. Bad side is you won’t be able to edit the post ever.
(2) I have an example for capturing the display name. If you email me I can send it to you. Search for email at joeldietz.com.
