# Disable auto-italics in quotes? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 13, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015 "2010-10-13T16:03:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [October 18, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/21 "2010-10-18T22:02:57Z")
This is a big improvement. Now, what about automatically italicizing nested quotes so people can easily tell how many quotes they’re about to read? I think that would make things a lot better for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/22 "2010-10-18T22:14:39Z")
Oh, nice. The italics vanishing in quotes is why I developed the habit of using underlined or **bolded** words instead. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/23 "2010-10-19T18:30:17Z")
**Giraffe** said: > [@](#): > > This is a big improvement. Now, what about automatically italicizing nested quotes so people can easily tell how many quotes they’re about to read? I think that would make things a lot better for everyone. Are you trying to be funny? Automatically nested quotes are gone. Automatically italicizing part of a quote (i.e. a nested quote within another quote) would undo the value of removing this dreadful piece of automatic formatting. Besides, the real difficulties created by nested quotes have nothing to do with identifying how many quotes you have, and everything with how this board editor highlights text when it selects strings. It can’t differentiate the end of a quote bracket and the beginning of a new quote bracket, and instead treats a string of punctuation marks as one “word”, and jumps to the next letter character. Ergo [noparse] > [@](#): > > **I’m a monkey.** Try to select the bold tags and remove them. What happens? The highlight jumps to include the connected punctuation, including the brackets on the quote tags, and even the period after monkey. No wonder nobody can denest quotes right. The board software actively conspires to prevent proper coding. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/24 "2010-10-19T19:04:33Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Try it now. Yay! \ Now bring back nested quotes. Kidding, kidding. ---
**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:** [October 19, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/25 "2010-10-19T20:32:55Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Are you trying to be funny? ::hangs head in shame:: (We really need [this smiley](http://www.giraffeboards.com/images/smilies/addons/sciencefail.gif).) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/26 "2010-10-19T21:58:21Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > ::hangs head in shame:: > (We really need [this smiley](http://www.giraffeboards.com/images/smilies/addons/sciencefail.gif).) Poor depressed science man ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/27 "2010-10-19T22:02:35Z")
> [@](#): > > **I’m a monkey.** > [@Irishman](#): > > Try to select the bold tags and remove them. What happens? The highlight jumps to include the connected punctuation, including the brackets on the quote tags, and even the period after monkey. No wonder nobody can denest quotes right. The board software actively conspires to prevent proper coding. > [@](#): > > I’m a monkey. Seems to work okay for me. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/28 "2010-10-19T22:08:08Z")
Testing. 🙂 **"Jeeves," I said that evening. "I’m getting a check suit like that one of Mr. Byng’s."** _“Injudicious, sir,” he said firmly. “It will not become you.”_ _ **"What absolute rot! It’s the soundest thing I’ve struck for years."** _ “Unsuitable for you, sir.” **Well, the long and the short of it was that the confounded thing came home, and I put it on, and when I caught sight of myself in the glass I nearly swooned.** _Jeeves was perfectly right._ _ **I looked a cross between a music-hall comedian and a cheap bookie.** _ Yet Monty had looked fine in absolutely the same stuff. These things are just Life’s mysteries, and that’s all there is to it. [RIGHT]But it isn’t only that Jeeves’s judgment about clothes is infallible, though, of course, that’s really the main thing.[/RIGHT] The man knows everything. There was the matter of that tip on the “Lincolnshire.” I forget now how I got it, but it had the aspect of being the real, red-hot tabasco. “Jeeves,” I said, for I’m fond of the man, and like to do him a good turn when I can, “if you want to make a bit of money have something on Wonderchild for the ‘Lincolnshire.’” ```auto He shook his head. "I'd rather not, sir." ``` [ol] [li]“But it’s the straight goods. I’m going to put my shirt on him.”[/li][\*]“I do not recommend it, sir. The animal is not intended to win. Second place is what the stable is after.”[/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/29 "2010-10-19T22:09:15Z")
[quote=“Arnold\_Winkelried, post:28, topic:557015”] Testing. 🙂 **"Jeeves," I said that evening. "I’m getting a check suit like that one of Mr. Byng’s."** _“Injudicious, sir,” he said firmly. “It will not become you.”_ _ **"What absolute rot! It’s the soundest thing I’ve struck for years."** _ “Unsuitable for you, sir.” **Well, the long and the short of it was that the confounded thing came home, and I put it on, and when I caught sight of myself in the glass I nearly swooned.** _Jeeves was perfectly right._ _ **I looked a cross between a music-hall comedian and a cheap bookie.** _ Yet Monty had looked fine in absolutely the same stuff. These things are just Life’s mysteries, and that’s all there is to it. [RIGHT]But it isn’t only that Jeeves’s judgment about clothes is infallible, though, of course, that’s really the main thing.[/RIGHT] The man knows everything. There was the matter of that tip on the “Lincolnshire.” I forget now how I got it, but it had the aspect of being the real, red-hot tabasco. “Jeeves,” I said, for I’m fond of the man, and like to do him a good turn when I can, “if you want to make a bit of money have something on Wonderchild for the ‘Lincolnshire.’” ```auto He shook his head. "I'd rather not, sir." ``` [ol] [li]“But it’s the straight goods. I’m going to put my shirt on him.”[/li][li]“I do not recommend it, sir. The animal is not intended to win. Second place is what the stable is after.”[/ol][/li][/QUOTE] What will this post look like, he asked, with breathless anticipation? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/30 "2010-10-19T22:10:34Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Try it now. Outstanding! Thanks TubaDiva. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/31 "2010-10-20T14:48:47Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Seems to work okay for me. It appears it could be browser specific. ---
**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:** [October 20, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/32 "2010-10-20T15:07:32Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Now, what about automatically italicizing nested quotes so people can easily tell how many quotes they’re about to read? Why don’t you just come over here and shoot me in the head personally? > [@Irishman](#): > > Besides, the real difficulties created by nested quotes have nothing to do with identifying how many quotes you have, and everything with how this board editor highlights text when it selects strings. That has nothing to do with the board editor and everything to do with your browser. AFAIK the behavior is consistent across all text in a particular application. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015/33 "2010-10-22T18:25:34Z")
Yes, it is consistent within IE7, and I have not checked other browsers to see if they behave differently, but someone else said that Firefox does. So it appears to be a browser function, not vB. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disable-auto-italics-in-quotes/557015.md?page=1)