There are two ways to do italics. The first and simplest is to, when you go to make a post, click on the “rich text” option below the text window, and then use the font controls to italicize the text just as in a word processor.

You can also, if you want, just insert open-italic and close-italic codes: <i> for open-italic, and </i> for close-italic.

As far as you being upset about the massive kerfuffle, I was annoyed by it myself, but there’s really only one thing you can do when people are determined to shout you down: let them shout, and go find something else to do. Their problems are theirs; they’re not mine if I refuse to be sucked in.