Question about vborg mod threads - first post style
 

As you all know the subforums for vBulletin mods are customized so that the first thread post has a different layout and appearance to the follow up posts. Is this done via templating and how difficult is this for an experienced vB coder/themer to implement?

I see also that the first post is divided up into the following sections but when attempting to test post a new mod there are not extra thread fields. Is this manually edited by the admins after a new mod has been posted?

You check if the currently displayed post is the first and then you change that template dynamically.

As Dismounted said, it's actually very simple. One little plugin and a new postbit. There is a hack called something like Chief First Post which allows users to pick which postbit to use and he coded a few different postbits in there, so you may want to download the hack and take a look at his postbits.