Here's an example of a spoiler.
Basically, whatever you put inside that code, will be hidden until you click on it. We used those a few times for the punch line in a joke.
If you want to try a few, just use "Preview Reply" to see if it works. Try PR for any of those items in the menu bar. (That's how I figured it out .... the "code" one we rarely use in there ... just for testing maybe.
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I can't figure out your first question. It may be related to the issues we are currently having with UBB update. I'll see what I can uncover.