I leave colors and text effects on in hopes people will consciously realize they're annoying and not use them~
GIMP isn't really all that hard to install these days, and gives the power of Photoshop, almost, despite its clunky interface.
Probably a better alternative is
Paint.net, which is supposed to be a replacement for mspaint.
There used to be another free paint program, but I can't recall the name at all at the moment.
Paint Shop Pro however is my program of choice, and is well worth payin for if you happen to have the money.