You have to use val(), or (better) the value property of the textarea. text() works initially because the initial value of the textarea is determined by the text node (if any) it contains. You can even initially change the nodeValue or data property of this text node and it will update the textarea's value. However, as soon as either the user has altered the value of the textarea or script has altered the value property of the textarea, the text node is out of the picture and is no longer bound to the textarea's value in any way.
