kapusta–
“(Why does the ? look so different before and after its posted?)“
Because the page is set up so there are different fonts in the “post” box and the approved posts.
am yisrael chai–
“Does anyone know how I can get these cute characters to work on a laptop w/ no numerics on the right?“
Use whatever key is set up to turn on the “Num Lock” on your keyboard, then use those numeric keys.