When FR was new and primitive (before my time here, too), italics and bolds would span to the next post. The running joke is about closing your tag (so as not to put the next guy’s post in italics, bold, etc.).
Federal imprisonment of Christians right around the corner (hate crimes bills)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2193138/posts?page=1
I bet the pressure was put on people to use proper formatting. Much like how the grammar and spelling police are out now...