Have you ever noticed different text decoration styles around the forum? Maybe something is bold or italicized – or maybe even… crossed out?
In this tutorial, I will walk you through different formatting options you have when creating a post in the forum. These can be used for showing emphasis, writing titles, separating longer posts, and so much more.
So, let’s look at some different things you can do in the forum!
But first - some guidelines!
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Don’t overdo it! Remember, these formatting options are supposed to make sense and enhance your posts or comments. Overusing formatting options can make your post hard to read, complicating it more than necessary. If you overuse formatting tools in your post, you might find that a moderator will hop in and edit it to make it easier to read.
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Format with a purpose! Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. I know it’s fun to include funky text, highlighted words, and headings! But if they don’t serve a purpose, it just makes the post unnecessarily jumbled and complicated.
What’s In This Post?
Two Different Editors
In August 2025, the forum software got a fancy new text editor! That means that if you don’t want to use Markdown (a type of coding language), you can use the new formatting styles that come with the new editor. This new editor is called a Rich Text Editor! In this tutorial, I will refer to the editors as Markdown and RTE for simplicity.
One major thing to note about the RTE is that there is no preview window – this is because the formatting options you include in your post will automatically show up as you type them. Your text editor becomes your preview window, too.
Each section below will have a tutorial for both editors, if applicable. There are some things the new editor can’t do yet. If those functions ever become available, this tutorial will be updated!
Switching Between Editors
You might not like the new editor, or you may want to switch back and forth between the two – both options are perfectly fine! There’s a handy new toggle switch in the text editor when you create a post. Clicking this will toggle between the Markdown Editor and the RTE. If the “M” is highlighted, you’re in the Markdown Editor. If the “A” is highlighted, you’re in the RTE.
This option is available for both desktop and mobile, including the app. It looks exactly the same and functions in the same way.
Please note that some functions are not fully supported in the RTE and may look weird if you use the Markdown Editor and then switch to the RTE. This is okay and to be expected. If you’re struggling with the RTE, feel free to keep using the Markdown Editor.
Basic Text Formatting
There are a few different options for basic text decoration and formatting. These include bolded text, italic text, and some highlights!
There are no separate instructions per editor for this section. Following the instructions below will work in both editors. The only notable difference is highlights and green underline.
Typing the first part of the code, <mark> or <ins> will automatically finish the code behind the scenes and you will instead see your text show up highlighted as you type it. To stop text from being highlighted, click outside of the highlighted text to move the cursor.
| What it Looks Like | How to Type It |
|---|---|
| bold | **bold** |
| italic | *italic* |
~~strikethrough~~ |
|
| highlight | <mark>highlight</mark> |
| green underline | <ins>green underline</ins> |
You can also make text bold or italic right in the text editor. Simply type what you want, highlight it, and select the correct button:
(bold)
(italic)
Centering Text
Please note, centering text is not currently supported in the RTE. If you want to center text, you must use Markdown.
I do a lot of my writing and browsing the internet on my computer, so I like my posts and writing to be very organized and pleasing to look at. One of the ways I accomplish this is through centering my headings and images when necessary. This requires use of HTML, so if you aren’t comfortable using this code, then it is a-okay to just not do it!
This is what it looks like…
Yes, hello – this text is centered!
…and this is how you type it!
<div align="center">
Yes, hello -- this text is centered!
</div>
Headings? Yes, please!
Sometimes, you might want to split your post up into sections. You can do this by creating something called a “Heading”. This allows readers to see that your post has different sections! You can see headings in articles all over the internet, in books, magazines, and so much more.
Headings are also a good thing to use for people who rely on screen readers. Their screen reader will usually recognize that the post is split into different sections, allowing them to skip over parts of the post they don’t want to read.
Headings are not necessary for most people in the forum, but if you like to create longer posts that have different sections – such as @Cosmic_Curiosity’s astrology posts – then headings might be something you want to learn to use.
The forum has several heading options to use. The following options work with both text editors.
This is what they look like…
Heading One
Heading Two
Heading Three
Heading Four
…and this is how you type them!
# Heading One
## Heading Two
### Heading Three
#### Heading Four
There’s also a button on both editors for adding headings and other formatted text. Find the button with two capital Ts, one bigger than the other, in the format bar. It’s next to the button for italic text and adding links, and it looks like this:
Clicking that button will give you a dropdown list with several options, including many different headings! Just click the heading style you want and your text will be formatted for you.
Quotes And Nested Quotes
If you’re in the forum for any amount of time, you will likely see a post with a gray box around it. In the forum, this denotes a quotation! We use quotes for a lot of different reasons. These include quoting members we are replying to or quoting from a book or article. Moderators will also use the quote function to make text stand out for announcements, warnings, or suggestions.
These methods for adding quotes work in both editors.
What it looks like…
This is a quote!
…and how to type it!
This is a quote!
You can also create a quote easily by using the forum’s button feature right in the text editor. Simply type out your quote, highlight it, and click/tap this button:
Lists, Lists, And More Lists!
Yes, we can create all kinds of lists here in the forum! They can also be nested, meaning you can have lists within a list – list-ception? – with a little practice! There are so many different things you can use a list for so I am not going to bother listing them all out.
Unordered Lists
To make an unordered list, you can use the - or * symbol before your writing. When you push enter and go to the next line, the forum will automatically continue your list, adding a symbol to your next line so you can continue the list. If you don’t want your list to continue automatically, you can disable this function in your user settings.
It looks like this!
- red
- orange
- yellow
- green
- blue
- purple
And this is how you type it!
* red
* orange
* yellow
* green
* blue
* purple
Ordered Lists
Making an ordered list is just as easy as an unordered list. Instead of using the - or * symbol, use a number!
It looks like this!
- red
- orange
- yellow
- green
- blue
- purple
And this is how you type it!
1. red
2. orange
3. yellow
4. green
5. blue
6. purple
Nesting Lists
Sometimes we want to include more information under a list. Nesting information in a list can be kind of weird to do in the forum, but it is doable! Simply create your list item, go to a new line, add two spaces and the list symbol, and start typing!
The main difference between lists in Markdown verses RTE is simple. The RTE nests lists using the tab button on your keyboard!
It looks like this!
- red
- apple
- orange
- …orange
- yellow
- flower
- green
- leaves
- blue
- berries
- purple
- tulips
And this is how you type it!
* red
* apple
* orange
* ...orange
* yellow
* flower
* green
* leaves
* blue
* berries
* purple
* tulips
You can also create lists right in the text editor with these two buttons. Simply type your list, highlight it, and click/tap the button:
Hiding Information With Blurs And Read-Mores!
Sometimes, you might want to hide information in your post behind a blur or read-more. This can be to hide surprises, sensitive information, or triggering content. You can read more about our guidelines about triggers and hiding information in our guide here: Content Safety - Talking About Mature Topics in the Forum
It looks like this!
This text is blurred!
And this is how you type it!
[spoiler]This text is blurred![/spoiler]
It looks like this!
This is a read-more...
And here’s the MORE!
And this is how you type it!
[details="This is a read-more..."]
And here's the MORE!
[/details]
You can also do both of these straight from the forum’s text editor. Simply type what you want to blur, highlight it, and click/tap the buttons below:
One thing to note about using RTE for blurs and read-mores is the cursor placement. When creating a read-more, you must click on the toggle arrow to open the space where you add the content meant to be hidden. That will show you placeholder text that says This text will be hidden. Delete that and enter your own text.
Blurring text works in a similar way. You can type the markdown code from above [spoiler], highlight text and select “Blur Spoiler” from the menu, or select “Blur Spoiler” from the menu and begin typing. If you change your mind and no longer want the text to be blurred, you must open the menu and click on “Blur Spoiler” again. This will remove the blur from your text.
So, that’s what we have for our tutorials, so far! I hope you have learned something new about how to use the forum. If you have any questions, please feel free to pop them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them for you.
Looking for more tutorials? We have those!
Find all of our tutorials here → Forum How-To 💬 Guides for Using the Forum!
And we have a tag for forum tutorials now, too → forum-tutorial
I need this 
You’re welcome!
You were the first person who came to my mind, besides us moderators, who posts long-form content 
so you became my example!
