[conservatism_IS_compassion]

A word about HTML.

1. You don’t have to use it

2. If you should become envious of people who do even so simple a thing as using italics, it isn’t hard.

3. If you do use HTML, you will start simple and gradually learn things.

4. HOWEVER, if you do use HTML it becomes necessary to use <br> every time you want a line feed, and <p> every time you want a new paragraph (I risk lecturing to someone who knows more than I about it, but . . .). Should you chose to adopt HTML use, that discipline must be adhered to or the result will be a messy post.

In the old days, HTML was mandatory here - and at that, the HTML parser used by Free Republic was not as sophisticated as it is now, and a simple slip-up by one poster would propagate into embarrassing effects on the results of succeeding posters. That is no longer seen. Again, you don’t have to use HTML - but avoid using the < symbol in your post if you do not intend to use HTML.

As a practical matter, that is the burden of the "(HTML auto-detected, see help for more information)” message above the Your Reply: box.

[paladinan]

:) Color me red, but you just showed me a more efficient way to do something I'd been doing for years! (I'd been doing < br >< br > [extra soaces inserted for display purposes] for a new paragraph; I actually *knew* about < p >, but I never connected the dots, so to speak!) Thanks!

BTW: how did you display the actual keystrokes for the commands, without them actually "engaging" as HTML?