Quote -
...How did Boston baked beans get invented - who would think to sweeten the beans? And how did they know to use molasses, of all things, instead of good old sugar? AND THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LIKE IT!?! -These people should be shot! -editor

I fixed your post ;p Sorry, I just hate baked beans.

The rest of your post needs no fixing; I totally agree. I don't know what all of the nodes do myself, but I know what enough of them do to turn out renders that don't look like they were done in Poser. I got there by trying out nodes in different places, and seeing what rendered as a result.

As for reproducing node screenshots, the easiest way I've found is this:

First off, see which nodes are used, then how many of each. Go into Poser, and add these nodes, and arrange them in a similar layout yo the picture.

Next, check the settings for nodes of the same type, and compare them to the ones just loaded. Change them as needed, and move on to the next node type/group.

Finally, connect them, in the same manner as above: a few at a time.