OK so the problem was we had the article editor set in rich text, which apparently was causing all of the problems. By turning it off, the article reads through html now and everyone can/should be able to post.
But wait, you don't know html? You think this idiot does? Here's the way to format and see your articles before posting them.
1. Go to the messageboard, type out the email, in the format you want (pictures, fonts, breaks between paragraphs, video's etc.
2. Once done, click on the little html icon located below the subject line on the messageboard with the other formating options.
3. That will bring up a new window with yoru emssage in html, copy that, and paste that as the body of your article.
4. Fill out the article title and summary on the new page in the allotted slots, pick the picture you want there, and hit submit, and viola!!