Broke down and started B.Net account

[Wyrm]

Where is the best place to quickly level merc?

Best places to level mercs are areas that are the same level they are, then let them do the killing. Generally, the Arcane Sanctuary works fairly well for lower levels. Killing the Travincal bosses (high council) and the bosses in the areas under the Causeway (sp?) are good exp as well. Once they hit 24 or so, the beginning area of Nihlathak's Temple (where Pindleskin is) works best. Once they're on pace with you, then wherever you go for exp will work for them as well.

How can I JOIN (not create) a normal difficulty game without knowing the name?

The only way to see normal diff games after you beat normal is to use another character that hasn't beaten normal yet and check the list then switch back.

How does team levelling work?

Team exp on bnet is the same as on LAN. You have to be a certain distance from the person who makes the kill.

How cool is it that somebody trades Firelizard's Talons for Isenhart's Horns?

Sounds like a non-legit item that was probably either duped or gotten through bot use. No idea what the claw's stats are though, been too long since I've played.

Where is a link to all the friends commands?

I don't remember a link, but off the top of my head:
all start with /f and a space
a account-name - Adds someone to your friends list. Can also use add.
r account-name - Removes someone from your friends list. Can also use remove.
m text - Sends the text as a message to everyone on your friends list. Can also use msg
p account-name - Promotes someone on your friends list (puts them higher on it). Can also use promote.
d account-name - Demotes someone on your friends list (oppossite of p). Can also use demote.
Basically, if you wanted to add someone with the account name InsaneBob to your friends list, you would type: /f a InsaneBob. Capital letters are unimportant though.

Is there ANY way of doing players 8 in Ladder aside from having 8 players in the game?

No.

Is there any way to minimize lag caused by wireless highspeed?

There are a few lag reduction mods over at the Phrozen Keep, but all they do is lower the visual effects so that less is happening on screen. Entirely client based. There's no real way to cut down on server-client connection lag caused by a wireless/modem/satellite/whatever else connection.