those are simple links, changed in design with CSS.

Code:

a.b:link, a.b:visited, a.b:hover, a.b:active { width:100px; height:20px; padding:2px; font-size:9px; background:black; color:silver; border:1px solid silver; text-decoration: none; }

The link itself has a so called class (class="b")
Check the CSS-file and view the source of this forum:
http://www.network54.com/Realm/n54_files/Switch/blue.css

Reference Linklist greetz Ed