AFAIK the answer to both questions is no, not at this time. Sorry.
Nope, and don’t expect any until 1.1 probably. Extended Profiles will probably get a lot of attention for the next version of BP.
Is there a workaround? It’s pretty essential to have a registration form that makes sense to potential new members.
What is the best way to approach this now? Will the fields show up in the order they are created? Or backwards?
What are the chances that this issue will be solved before September?
Fields show up in the order they were created. By September… I would say 50% right now? There’s a few different things on the roadmap for what comes next, and you can always vote on what you think you’d like to see also.
The first blog visible on the buddypress.org homepage will link you to where you can vote for what you’d like to see come sooner or later. The votes will determine the path, so make sure to get involved.
Thanks for the clear answer John James Jacoby.
I vote and added a long comment. The registration process is the heart of the system imho. I really hope it gets upgraded to a more mature standard before even thinking about adding lots more ‘cool’ features and ‘widgetizing everything’.
A more mature, flexible and extendable registration system would dramatically broaden the possible uses of Buddypress.
