You can format text in your messages with BBCode by using the buttons and drop-down lists in the message creation form. When you use these options, special tags similar to HTML appear around the selected text in the message authoring text box. When you post your message, the corresponding text is displayed in bold, italics, or whatever other formatting option you select. For more information, see Formatting Words & Phrases. For more information about BBCode, click here.
 Note: HTML formatting has not been enabled on this forum. If it is ever added, we will allow only some limited codes. For this reason, we recommend that you use the friendlier BBCode to format your messages.
You can also insert smilies (emoticons) into your messages by clicking the corresponding icons in the message creation form. For more information about inserting smilies, see Inserting Smilies (Emoticons).
Both BBCode and smilies can be enabled or disabled via a preference in your member profile (How?). An indicator appears in the message creation form, letting you know whether or not they are turned on. You can override your preference for any specific message by selecting or deselecting the corresponding check box in the form.
Note: If you do turn BBCode off, the messages of other forum members who use BBCode to format words and phrases are likely appear odd. You might see the actual codes in their messages, rather than the formatting that those codes display. For example, instead of seeing bold text, you might see [b] and [/b] codes around the words that they are intending to display as bold.
The forum has Message icons that you can select in the message creation form to communicate the tone of your message. If you select one, it appears in front of your Subject line, as shown below.
Another formatting option is to attach a specific signature at the end of your message posts. To do this, you must first define a signature in your member profile. You can also select a preference in your profile that attaches your signature to your messages automatically. You can override this preference by selecting or deselecting a check box in the message creation form. For more information, see Changing Profile Preferences and Attaching a Signature.
!!! Warning: If you want to add a very long URL to a message, you must substitute a text link for the URL or use TinyURL to keep the link short, so that the link will not stretch the column on the page where your message is displayed. For more information and for instructions, see Shortening URL Links.
Also, If you copy and paste text into your message from another source, such as an e-mail message, be sure to remove any additional line breaks that move text to the next line without filling the whole message area on the topic page. You might need to preview your message before you can see where they are. For more information, see Creating & Posting Messages.
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