Could be wrong but my belief is there are only 2-4 mods for the entire site. I remember a post a few weeks back from CK that mentioned he and one of the other mods were going to only be on PT for a few weeks while they each dealt with some separate RW stuff. Possibly one of them was going on vacation with family. Stuff like that.
Might explain why they are slow in responding.

As to what you get extra by being verified? Not sure other than access to the Men's Lounge. I am sure there are other extras but they don't come to mind at the moment.

Truthfully, this site is slow at the moment. I am sure Eccie was slow for a while back in its newer days as wellbefore I came along. When I did finally join the hobby, ECCIE was rolling hard full force. So it is my hope that OH2 will eventually pick up steam.

I am giving it time.