[Boone Gorges]

Perhaps not the optimal solutions, but:

– https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/forum-attachments-for-buddypress/ allows users to attach files to forum posts, including pictures (which will then display inline).

– https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/bp-tinymce/ *should* work to give basic bold/italic/link stuff for forum posts. I haven’t done a very good job keeping this plugin up with the latest BP developments, so please test in a development environment first.