mg, here is Jo's explanation from Helpful Hints and FAQ's:

"It is useful to try out the markup options, particularly changing [ blue ]colours[ /blue ]", adding [ b ]emphasis[ /b ], using emoticons [ i ]like this[ /i ][ smile ]. You can also reach the markup information by clicking on the link which says "you may use markup in your posts" at the top of the page where you add your post."
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NEWCOMERS--there really is a lot of good info. in this thread. Really. It takes a while, but it will make your time here easier, it really will. It's in I & A.