Reading Guitar Tabs Options

[manwesulimo2004]

I just checked out the Lick of the Day and realised how much I don't know about reading guitar tabs. I'm familiar with the basics (and I just read this article) but I still have some questions:

E S S E S S S S S S S S S S E. S S S E Q Q
E||-------0---3b--0------0----------------|---------------------------||
B||---3b----0-------0-3b---0--------------|---------------------------||
G||*-------------------------2br-L-0------|--------------------------*||
D||*---------------------------------2p-0-|------2-L-2---------------*||
A||---------------------------------------|----------------2----------||
E||---------------------------------------|--0---------3b--0----------||
[Unfortunately the editor is scrapping the correct spacing so some characters are a bit off here.]

What do those stars (*) mean and what's with the letters above the tab (E, S, Q)? Thanks for your help.

Also, it would be cool if a link or button was added to the tab section of Lick of the Day, linking beginners to a guide or some kind of reference to help them understand things better.

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