@Steve: yeah, we’re working on some new possibilities for forums/discussion boards. We definitely want the option to upload images someday. I know just adding links is a pain.

@Dylan: This does sound weird. I assume you know about the “Paste Remembers Layers” option in the Layers panel menu. That’s not it?

I would also look in the layers panel to see if there are any objects or layers ABOVE what you are pasting. Perhaps the objects are there, but they’re being covered up.

Of course, it’s possible that the document is also experiencing some corruption. So it might be worthwhile to export as IDML, and then open the IDML file. That sometimes clears up problems.

The Case of the Imperfect Paste Contest Answer and Winner

If you hold down the Command or Ctrl key while dragging a corner or edge handle, it will scale non-proportionally. That is normal. To scale proportionally, hold down Command-Shift / Ctrl-Shift when you drag.

Here are some articles that may help:

How to Create Perfect Automated InDesign Captions

How to Caption All Images at Once in InDesign

Easily Add Captions to Graphic Frames

Setting up a Ghosted Background Behind Text