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Forum formatting — bold, lists, quotes, @mentions

The forum uses a small rich-text editor for new threads and replies. You can write plain text and it'll work — but you also have buttons for bold, italic, headings, lists, quotes, code, links and @mentions when you want to give a post more shape.

Where it shows up

  • New thread — open any forum category, click + New thread, and the editor appears under the title field.
  • Reply — at the bottom of any thread page.

Both look the same: a toolbar at the top, a writing area below, and a small character counter in the corner (20,000 characters for thread bodies, 10,000 for replies). Write what you want — buttons are optional.

The toolbar

Left to right, here's what each button does. All of them work on whatever text you've selected — or, if nothing is selected, on whatever you type next.

  • B — Bold. Keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd + B.
  • I — Italic. Keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd + I.
  • S — Strikethrough. Use it to cross out a price or a part you no longer recommend.
  • H2, H3 — Headings. Useful when a long ride report or a how-to has its own sections.
  • • Bullet list — for lists where order doesn't matter (gear, pros/cons).
  • 1. Numbered list — for steps that have to happen in order.
  • ❝ Quote — quote part of someone else's reply when answering. Renders as an indented block.
  • <> Inline code — wraps a short technical term (a part code, a measurement) in monospace.
  • </> Code block — multi-line block for longer technical pastes (a config, a part list).
  • 🔗 Link — paste any URL. URBALT links open in the same tab; outside links open in a new tab.
  • ↺ Clear formatting — strips all formatting from the selected text. Useful when you've pasted from somewhere with a busy style and want to start clean.

@mentions

Type @ followed by the start of a username — a small popup appears with matching members. Each row shows the avatar, identity emoji (🚴 Rider, 🛴 Glider, 🚶 Walker), display name and @username. Use ↑ and ↓ to move through the list, Enter to insert. The mention turns into a clickable pill that links to that member's profile, and they get a notification that they were tagged. Press Escape to close the popup without inserting anything.

Mentions are a friendly way to pull someone into a conversation — don't over-use them. The same @mention syntax works in the community feed.

Pasting from elsewhere

You can paste text from a Word document, a webpage, or a chat — formatting comes along for the ride. If it looks too busy or off-style, select the pasted text and hit the ↺ Clear formatting button to flatten it back to plain text.

The character counter

The counter in the bottom-right corner shows how many characters you've used. It turns amber when you're getting close to the limit and red when you're over — submit is blocked until you trim. Limits exist to keep threads readable and to discourage walls of text.

Old posts and backward compatibility

Posts published before the rich-text editor went live keep showing as plain text — they were saved that way and they render that way. Nothing breaks; you'll just see clean paragraphs without bold or lists. New posts (since 7 May 2026) can use the full toolbar.

What's not in the editor (yet)

  • Image upload inside posts — planned for a follow-up. For now, share photos via the community feed, or attach a listing card to your forum post which carries its own photo.
  • Code syntax highlighting — the code block is monospace only. URBALT is a bike forum, not a code review tool.
  • Editing your own thread or reply after posting through the new editor — that UI is on its way; until then a moderator can clean up a typo if you ask via support.

Etiquette

  1. Don't shout — leave bold and headings for things that genuinely need emphasis.
  2. Quote sparingly. Quote the line you're answering, not the whole reply.
  3. Keep code blocks for actual technical content (part codes, measurements, scripts), not decoration.
  4. Use @mentions to include someone, not to demand attention. One mention per person is plenty.

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