Can't post on bitcointalk.org I've done some research and understand that I'm supposed to post in a newbie forum and wait a while, as a newly registered user.

But I can't seem to find the newbie forum.  Does anyone know which top-level forum it lives under?

In fact, no matter where I am, there's always a big banner on my screen saying I can't post.  When I click "How to Enable Posting," it says there's an error: bitcoind is offline.

I tried to find a way to contact some staff member.  No luck.  In fact, my private messaging section says I'm not allowed to send messages.

Any idea would be appreciated.
It's likely that your account has "units of evil" which require you to pay money to remove them. Bitcoin, the program used to accept these payments, is down. See also https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=953005.msg10434122#msg10434122

You also have restrictions on your account due to being a new user. See Why can&#39;t I participate on bitcointalk.org?