Please forgive my odd call sign, I did not realize it would be my username.

I'm very excited about this project, I've been interested in mesh networking for a while and this implementation of it seems robust and unique enough to manage many modern networking needs.  I have several questions that I did not see covered in the FAQ thought it's possible I missed finding my answers.

What kind of bandwidth can be expected with a standard configuration?  I understand that range between devices and the kind of traffic being sent can greatly affect the throughput, so for example let's say an IRC client or other text-only application that's being used by 20 or so end-users / nodes?  Is this one of those things where I won't know until I set up equipment and test and tweak it?

What kind of traffic is prohibited?  Certain protocols or applications, like HTTPS or VOIP or VPN?  How would the FCC monitor the network to determine that prohibited protocols are being used, standard signal triangulation like when tracking down pirate radio broadcast?

Any estimated costs for cabling, power and antenna equipment to operate one node?

Can a node act as a bridge between the mesh network and the Internet?  I didn't see anywhere if this kind of functionality is possible.  I assume that a computer with two NICs should be able to have one connected to the Internet and the other to a mesh node with some sort of server or routing software installed on the computer to handle the DNS and the bridged traffic. For example, could an IP camera attached to a mesh node be accessed remotely, like a user with a laptop in an airport or from a smart phone that can SSH in to the bridging device?  I assume the mesh network would all be behind one external IP and the mesh nodes would be on it's own private IP address subnet.  What would happen if two nodes on the same local mesh network were bridged to the internet?  I can see conflicts arising if someone sets up a rogue mesh server and starts to play havoc with DHCP or routing tables.  Or maybe not, I haven't read enough about OSLR to understand how it handles those issues.

Finally, the website suggestion:  the account creation page and the forum login page are both served over HTTP, meaning that anyone between me and your website server can intercept my traffic and see my password.  I understand that it's just a forum login, nothing high-value here, but it's still not best practice and SSL certificates can be bought and implemented pretty cheaply.  It's not a deal-breaker at all, just something to think about for future website upgrades.  :)

Thank you for any replies and info, I know I'm asking some specific networking questions and I may be wording them wrong.  HSMM-MESH has sparked some ideas and possibilities in my mind and I'm trying to get more info about its capabilities.  

Answers inline

Go get your ticket and get some nodes up and going !!