This is bc of our spam filter settings. New members' posts go into the Moderation queue for approval....just in case the new member is a spammer.
We get a *lot* of spammer attempts here. These spammers try to post links to all of these weird sites -- but bc of our filter, their threads/posts sit in our Mod queue, waiting for approval (especially if a new member tries to post a link, anywhere). This enables us to ban the spammers immediately, rather than allowing them onto the board (although a few posts here or there make it through).
Once a new member (a real one, like you) has a few more posts - the 'need for approval' will automatically disappear.