some of us think it should support neither (because _emphasis_ is only slightly less legible than emphasis whereas erroneous use of asterisks is very much less legible than uses of asterisks would be if asterisks were not interpreted -- and because erroneous use of asterisks is fairly common).

But _if_ the present situation continues in which asterisks (or asterisks and underscores) are interpreted, at least the interface should provide a link next to the "ago", "parent", and "flag" links that show the raw, uninterpreted comment the way the user entered it.