# Anyone else annoyed by all the nested quotes? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 24, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321 "2010-08-24T18:45:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/1 "2010-08-24T18:45:55Z")
I’m seeing a lot of nested quotes where nesting isn’t necessary (or even helpful). It makes the threads messy. It annoys me. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/2 "2010-08-24T18:56:26Z")
I haven’t noticed any problems. Can you give an example or two that have annoyed you? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/3 "2010-08-24T19:10:45Z")
They **all** annoy me. 🙂 There are several early in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=575505), but I’m seeing them everywhere. I think people are quoting without realizing that they’re quoting more than one post. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/4 "2010-08-24T19:15:42Z")
Someone needs to figure out who’s dumb idea this was and punch him. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/5 "2010-08-24T19:16:28Z")
Yes, they are annoying me, too. They’re greatly increasing my snippage in quoting, too. ETA: Yeah! Punch! Punch! Punch! ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/6 "2010-08-24T19:18:33Z")
It’s easy enough to cut them out before submitting, but I’m not sure why you would want them in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/7 "2010-08-24T19:19:21Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > There are several early in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=575505), but I’m seeing them everywhere. I’d probably have snipped some of those, but they don’t make the thread hard to read (IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/8 "2010-08-24T19:21:37Z")
I hate them. It’s too easy to inadvertently screw it up and make it appear you quoted one person, when the actual text of the quote was posted by whoever that person was quoting. I’ve been misquoted in this way, and found it a little jarring to see “Originally posted by Oakminster”–something I did not post at all. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/9 "2010-08-24T19:31:41Z")
Generally I like them, but they do go overboard, so where do I sign up for the punching? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/10 "2010-08-24T20:17:26Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I hate them. It’s too easy to inadvertently screw it up and make it appear you quoted one person, when the actual text of the quote was posted by whoever that person was quoting. I’ve been misquoted in this way, and found it a little jarring to see “Originally posted by Oakminster”–something I did not post at all. There is a five minute window to edit. If you screw up the coding, that’s ample time to fix it. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/11 "2010-08-24T20:20:49Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > > [@Oakminster](#): > > > > I hate them. It’s too easy to inadvertently screw it up and make it appear you quoted one person, when the actual text of the quote was posted by whoever that person was quoting. I’ve been misquoted in this way, and found it a little jarring to see “Originally posted by Oakminster”–something I did not post at all. > > There is a five minute window to edit. If you screw up the coding, that’s ample time to fix it. Really? In the 4 years I’ve been here, and the thousands of posts I’ve edited, I never once realized I could also edit a nested quote. :rolleyes: And the edit window doesn’t help me when I’m the one misquoted, since I can’t edit other people’s posts. But of course, a world famous expert on the editing feature such as yourself would already know that. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/12 "2010-08-24T20:24:01Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > And the edit window doesn’t help me when I’m the one misquoted, since I can’t edit other people’s posts. Indeed, but the knowledge that people have no excuse to have improperly formated coding gives you free reign to point and laugh at their complete fail. If everyone points and laughs properly, people will learn – like you and I have – that there is a five minute edit feature. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/13 "2010-08-24T20:50:00Z")
Fuck yes! Nested quotes need to be taken out back and shot! ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/14 "2010-08-24T20:54:15Z")
They totally suck. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/15 "2010-08-24T20:59:57Z")
In theory, I’m okay with nested quotes, since they’re now fixed to a depth of one (or two, depending on how you look at it). However, in practice, a fair number of people on this board are too stupid to delete the irrelevant bits. I suspect that these are the same people who quote the entirety of a 700-word post in order to make a three-word reply to the last sentence of it. Of course, they’re probably \*also \*the same people who fuck up the markup when they \*do \*try to edit the quoted bits, especially when nested, so perhaps we should just thank the PTB for small favors. Or find a way to remove them from the gene pool entirely… > [@Oakminster](#): > > It’s too easy to inadvertently screw it up and make it appear you quoted one person, when the actual text of the quote was posted by whoever that person was quoting. I’ve been misquoted in this way, and found it a little jarring to see “Originally posted by Oakminster”–something I did not post at all. FYI, the mods have asked that you use the “Report Post” button for any poorly coded posts you find that misattribute quotes like this, so they can go in and fix them. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/16 "2010-08-24T21:34:04Z")
I find myself much more prone to skipping anything in quote blocks, and only looking back at it if I can’t figure out from context. When you’re reading the thread straight through, it is kinda superfluous to quote the whole conversation, seeing as how you just read it. If coming back to a thread after a time, if you can’t remember the context you very likely need to read more than just the one nested quote. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/17 "2010-08-24T21:49:14Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Someone needs to figure out who’s dumb idea this was and punch him. :mad: You are receiving credit as the source of the problem every time I have to go back and edit some post where the quoting went terribly awry. :mad: You should be **ASHAMED** of yourself! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/18 "2010-08-24T22:31:21Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Someone needs to figure out who’s dumb idea this was and punch him. :mad: Yeah, but, no fair. You have a height advantage over everybody, and you can kick out with those long legs of yours. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/19 "2010-08-24T23:02:00Z")
I find them annoying. While I’m acutely aware of making sure not to inadvertently leave in an extra name when quoting, others aren’t always so aware or careful. As a mod, I get perhaps one alert/day to go fix some one’s post who has wrongly credited someone with saying something they didn’t. They just didn’t take enough care to look at the coding. It’s gonna be a continuing problem, IMHO. And I don’t see the edit feature helping. If you don’t realize you did it, what good is a few minutes to change your post? Just my opinion. [sub]But, punch the big guy for me. :p[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321/20 "2010-08-24T23:34:13Z")
Nested quoting is bothersome. It’s also annoying because it’s unnecessary. I’ll just renew my objections and reasons that I stated when they were instituted. They take more time to cut out the extra quoted material, you have to be very careful about which quotes you cut out or it totally messes up the entire post and in all, but a very few cases, it’s not necessary. In the few cases where it would actually help, you could have used the multi-quote function which is now more complicated because now you have to cut out the nested quoting from each of those multi-quotes as well. Now if you want to multi-quote 3 levels deep, not only do you have to hit the multi-quote, you have to nest in an already nested quote. In the past, you could leave them as consecutive single multi-quotes and people would have understood. That’s not possible now. It adds a lot more complication without a lot of benefit, IMO. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-annoyed-by-all-the-nested-quotes/551321.md?page=2)