A powerful formatting language developed specifically for this application allows you to format your posts without knowledge of HTML. This formatting language is easy for both HTML users and non-HTML users to learn quickly. There are examples after each major section.
The code is a keyword to invoke the desired formatting (for example, green to produce green text and b to produce bold text). Formatting tags are case sensitive. Formatting tags may be nested within other tags. A comprehensive list of available formatting tags is available in this document (although the system administrator can turn off certain tags).
To use formatting, enter the appropriate code(s) in the text of your message or subject line. When you preview your post, your formatting will be displayed so you can verify that you have entered your tags properly.
| Tag | Description | Example |
| \b{Your Text} | Bold Text | Your Text |
| \i{Your Text} | Italics Text | Your Text |
| \+{Your Text} | Superscript Text | [Reference]Your Text |
| \-{Your Text} | Subscript Text | [Reference]Your Text |
| \fixed{Your Text} | Fixed Width Text | Your Text |
| \u{Your Text} | Underlined Text | Your Text |
| \c{Your Text} | Centered Text |
| Input: | \b{Show me some bold} and \i{italics text}. | |
| Output: | Show me some bold and italics text. | |
| Input: | H\-{2}O has a density of 1.000x10\+{-3} kg/mL. | |
| Output: | H2O has a density of 1.000x10-3 kg/mL. | |
| Tag | Description | Example |
| \red{Your Text} | Red Text | Your Text |
| \orange{Your Text} | Orange Text | Your Text |
| \yellow{Your Text} | Yellow Text | Your Text |
| \green{Your Text} | Green Text | Your Text |
| \cyan{Your Text} | Cyan Text | Your Text |
| \blue{Your Text} | Blue Text | Your Text |
| \purple{Your Text} | Purple Text | Your Text |
| \white{Your Text} | White Text | Your Text |
| \gray{Your Text} | Gray Text | Your Text |
| \black{Your Text} | Black Text | Your Text |
| Input: | \red{Red} and \green{green} are pretty colors. | |
| Output: | Red and green are pretty colors. |
| Tag | Description |
| \image{Text description} | Upon posting, you are prompted for an image file to upload. Images must be either GIF or JPEG format. Images must be saved on your hard disk. Your browser must support form-based file upload (Netscape Navigator 2.0+ and Internet Explorer 4.0+ support this; IE 3.02 will also work provided that you have installed the file upload patch). |
| \clipart{Clipart File Name} | Inserts clipart (see index) |
| Input: | This is a picture of me: \image{my picture} and I smile like this: \clipart{smile}. | |
| Output: | This is a picture of me: and I smile like this: .Note that the "Your Image Here" graphic is replaced by the image file that you upload. |