Hmm not sure about the smilies, but being able to select simple formatting like italics, bold, underlined and possibly a couple more should definitely be made more accessible.
Now now, Bernardo, language! You'll get that profanity filter going again.
Back to thread, Please, no smilies. It is not in the style of the site, however cute little dotted yellow circles might be for instant messaging. Simple formatting ok, but keep it text and simple. It is the ideas and the thoughts that count.