For the love of plain text

Rich text editors have enabled the more animated percentage of the population--of which I am a member--to enliven their informal written communication with emboldened, italicized, colored and otherwise visually enhanced text. However, the loss of rich text editing in my work e-mail has allowed me to develop a true appreciation for the humble asterisk. Asterisks can be used in plain text editing to add emphasis to a word, *or* to communicate nonverbal indicators, i.e. *grin*, *sigh*, *hug*, *cough*. They also make my words look sparkly. And what is the point of writing if not to make words sparkle?