How would I get permission to write in the PbP threads? I was participating in Bad Apples and would like to post in hope the storyteller will get a notification via email and thus note that the forum is back up.
Have you tried sending them a pm? That can trigger emails too (possibly dependant on settings, although I don't know if those got reset as part of the forum change).
I'm going to let Michelle answer about the PbP threading posting; she has a system I haven't fully grokked yet. But I've sent the GM an e-mail to let him know that he has an excited player on the reactivated forums. Hopefully he'll come back! Sounds like a great game!
I emailed all of the PbP GMs, so hopefully they'll get back to me soon. You can post as a player by joining the PbP Players group.