Except for the smilies, I don't know what any of the new tabs are for.

b = bolds the highlighted
i = italicizes the highlighted text
u = underlines the highlighted text
link = add a hypertext link
excerpt surrounds the highlighted text with an excerpt block:


/blockquote surrounds the highlighted text with block quotes:

block

Not really sure what close tags does.

I'd have lots of fun with strike-through.

But baby steps, I suppose...

It signifies one of two meanings. In ink-written, typewritten, or other non-erasable text, the words are a mistake and not meant for inclusion. When used on a computer screen, however, it indicates recently deleted information. It can also be used for humorous purposes; for example: "John Doe is an idiot (strike-out 'idiot') not so intelligent."

In plain text scenarios where markup cannot be used, Unicode offers a number of combining characters that achieve similar effects. The "long stroke overlay" (U+0336) results in an unbroken stroke across the text,

Separate: A̶B̶C̶D̶E̶F̶G̶H̶I̶
Combined: A̶B̶C̶D̶E̶F̶G̶H̶I̶

while "short stroke overlay" (U+0335) results in individually struck out characters:

Separate: A̵B̵C̵D̵E̵F̵G̵H̵I̵
Combined: A̵B̵C̵D̵E̵F̵G̵H̵I̵

Similarly, "short solidus overlay" (U+0337) results in diagonally struck out letters:

Separate: A̷B̷C̷D̷E̷F̷G̷H̷I̷
Combined: A̷B̷C̷D̷E̷F̷G̷H̷I̷

like this

Or rather,

I don't start tags, instead I highlight some text and then hit the attribute button which adds both the open and close tags in one swell foop.