Did you know? All form tags are prohibited in wordpress.com blogs? All, except one – “Textarea”. Textarea tags are used as input fields in forms. And to make a form function as a form it has to be between “Form” tags. So how come “Textareas” are allowed in wordpress?
Well, textareas are not only used as input fields (for which, it has to be between “form” tags), but also to display code in a box – for which surrounding “form” tags are not neceassary. ”Form” tags are indispensable for dynamic input, as when it is used to send user’s input to a specific database.
Now let’s get to the “CAUTION” part. Textareas behave in a very unprdictable manner in wordpress.com blogs. I once had parts of my post disappear and turn up in the admin area under the box for writing/editing the entry! Another time, a textarea “ate” the comment box of the post it was in!
So, is there a way to avoid it? As it happens, there is only one way you can get over this problem. When you use “Textarea” in a post and save it, DON’T EDIT IT AFTERWARDS! AND DON’T OPEN IT IN THE EDITING MODE EITHER!
Just make sure your post is alright before you hit the “Save” button. The same rule applies even if you are saving the post as a draft.
It is always advisable to first create the post elsewhere and save it in a Notepad file. That way, should anything happen you won’t go bald pulling out your own hair 
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YOU are really good at this stuff, huh!
Not, I, friend…Keep up the good work!
hello lolly!
good to have you on board.
and i am sooooooooo glad that you think i’m good at it! cos i used to think otherwise, he he!
you know, blogging has turned me into what i am today……..gee, what AM i today???
uh-oh!
you didn’t link your avatar!
i wanted to visit your blog!
Yeah, I did have these troubles too.
This problem arises because WordPress.com automatically alters tags in the design window. For example, if you need to bold the text, you would probably use the “” tag. Of course it works but if you go to the design window and then go back to the code window, this tag will become ““. That’s what WP uses by default. It doesn’t matter in formatting but it does mess up if you try using a complex HTML like the one I used to make my signature. Once you’re done with the post, there’s no logic trying to edit it in the code window because it will mess everything up and you’ll have to get back to working from scratch.
Oh great, that previous comment got completely destroyed. Will try posting it again and maybe it’d work.
This problem arises because WordPress.com automatically alters tags in the design window. For example, if you need to bold the text, you would probably use the “ ” tag. Of course it works but if you go to the design window and then go back to the code window, this tag will become ““. That’s what WP uses by default. It doesn’t matter in formatting but it does mess up if you try using a complex HTML like the one I used to make my signature. Once you’re done with the post, there’s no logic trying to edit it in the code window because it will mess everything up and you’ll have to get back to working from scratch.
You’re meant to read the tags without the inverted comma’s and the -’s.
Okay nevermind, WP is too clever for me.
First inverted comma’s should have “b” within the tags and the second one should have “strong” within the tags.
wp is too clever, eh?
that’s a nice way of paraphrasing the actual truth!