Bulteer

Are you talking about the half-block slabs of stone or planks?

You can just put them in the crafting grid to cycle them through automatic / vertical only / horizontal only placement.

I havent't seen it mentioned anywhere either, but it's as simple as 

Ctrl + scroll wheel

Maybe the attackers could temporally disable any player-placed blocks to pass through them, simulating destruction, but have them reset after the event ends so that your base is not permanently damaged?

From the news post:

• Feature: New more medieval looking world map visuals, using the color palette from the Medieval Map mod (by permission from Rangelost, with many thanks). Classic world map visuals can be restored using the commands "/worldconfigcreate bool colorAccurateWorldmap true" server-wide or "/player [playername] privilege grant colorAccurateWorldmap" for each player

Use flint tools in the crafting grid, where tool speed doesn't matter. Flint knives for leather working or flint axes to make firewood save durability on your metal tools.

I'm not sure, but I think at most it is 5 to 7 days.

When next you go to your trader, in the traders window you'll find the statement "Delivery of new goods in X days"

You have to loot them with a knife, just like other creatures.

Combine the ingots with a chisel in the crafting grid to receive copper bits, then mix in the crucible as usual.

For aesthetically pleasing sand and gravel slopes, you can use the wooden pan to remove layers in increments of 1/8 of a block.

They will be destroyed if they are directly adjacent to water blocks.

Where's my cow?

Is that my cow?

It goes "Baaaa". It is a sheep.

That is not my cow!