... is there a setting somewhere for this forum software so that it doesn't log you out every 5 minutes? I've been copying my posts before I submit them, because a lot of time I'm already logged out by the time I've finished what I wanted to say and I lose the post. And I'm never still logged in when I go to reply to something. It's fairly annoying.

Yeah, click the "Remember Me" box when you're logging in.