Could we have (default or optional) links clickable and smileys visible on the front page, even on posts with 'read me' links?

I ask because at the moment I have a 'Welcome' post stuck to the front page. It's short, but the link in it is not active and it is inconvenient for a new user to have to find their way right into the post to see it properly.

(In fact, mark-up generally seems not to display in previews).

Yes, we remove all markups. Showing markup in posts will quickly lead to lot of clutter.

OK. Could we have control over where the 'read more' link appears, e.g. a <more> tag a bit like Wordpress uses?

Yes, its a good suggestion.
We will add it in our todo list.

@Gramlin this worked for me http://codologic.com/forum/index.php?u=/topic/5324/big-post/post-12678#post-12678