It looks like its because you have a wp theme or plugin that might not be adding tinymce elements properly…

unfortunately, some wp themes and plugins that add buttons or plugins to the wp editor (tinymce) incorrectly assume the editor only shows up in the admin and therefore hook into incorrectly…  the wp editor fully support its use on the front end, which simple press does…

so need to identify the theme or plugin that is adding the new elements (maybe something called markdown) and where its loading them so we can see if we can help your correct the theme or plugin… often its just having it hook into admin_init instead of init…

to try to narrow down where to look, try switching to the default wp theme… and then test… if works, we know its the theme… if not, then disable all other plugins…does it work?  if so, renable theme one by one testing until it breaks…

Thank you, you had it in one, and of course it was the most problematic plugin to replace, the magicmembers site membership one that runs, well, everything!  Is there any way you can advise how to fix it or is it up to magicmembers?  Either way thank you for your quick, and completely accurate, analysis! I am officially a fan of your software!

see if you can figure out where its adding the items…  often the plugin incorrectly hooks into the init hook… if they just want it to apply in the admin, they should hook into admin_init hook…