I think we are all familiar with some of the problems that happen when trying to format forum posts. I know that it can be very frustrating, so I've done some testing and have settled on what should be a fail-proof way of writing longer posts.

Most of the problems are the result of copying from Microsoft Word. Problems also occur when people try to use html or BBCode in their posts.

Instructions for writing longer posts with lots of formatting:
  1. Compose your post in Microsoft Word or something similar.
    • Don't appy formating here.
    • Consider using spell checking here.
    • Save your post for peace of mind.
  2. Once the post is completely written, copy and paste to a plain text editor.
    • Notepad or Textedit are good choices.
    • This removes Microsoft Word markup (which you can't see)
    • Save it again, if you like.
  3. Copy and paste from the text editor into a new forum post.
    • This way you won't bring any MS Word markup into the forum post.
  4. Format your post online
    • Use the What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) buttons
    • You can also spell check here
    • If you mess something up, delete everything and copypasta again
I apologize for the problems we've had in the past and for the fact that we have to use this rather complicated process. The post by Obliveonen is a shining example of how a great deal of work can be put into a post's formatting, only to have it not render correctly online. I hope that nothing like that happens again. This method may not seem the fastest, but it should work every time.