Full disclosure & VH-Cheer UP,
Also, you may have your browser security settings too high. When set too high, the browser is unable to use the functionality of Java (amongst other things). It is this functionality that allows you to bold, underline and do formatting.
On your browser, first find "Internet Options" (on the "Tools" menu of Internet Explorer 8).
Then click the "Security" tab. For the "Internet" group, the slider should be set at "medium-high".