We should add an icon to add a mention. Many people don't know about the @ syntax.
Thats funny and sad at the same time ! But yeah lots of folks don't know about the function both here and elsewhere ... not sure what the best way to advertise that is, but maybe the @ button.
Good idea, but how exactly will it work when you click on it?
The icon should probably be the standard icon used for "member" everywhere. Some version of this: (http://www.elkarte.net/community/themes/default/images/icons/online.png). @ is standard for emails.
When you click the button it would open a little window that says "Enter a user" and it would have the same action as using the inline @ method.