# Do some people on this board simply not know how to quote others' posts? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 4, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339 "2013-02-04T21:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/41 "2013-02-09T11:47:56Z")
You see the little arrow icon next to a username within a quote? If you click it, it takes you back to the original post it came from. If you don’t use the in-built quote feature then that doesn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/42 "2013-02-09T16:13:50Z")
Please show me, from the FAQ, where instructions on how to use this button are? All I can find is in ‘replying to posts’, and it only mentions multiple quotes, and even then it’s not very clear. No, I didn’t know how to use this button, and when I did go looking to find how to quote, I found not much to help, and usually just asked. But, of course, couldn’t remember the next time. Yeah yeah, I know all the more savvy users are saying ‘just go on and try things’. I figure that’s because they’ve never accidentally done something (Like switching to a split keyboard!) with no idea how to reverse it. When do you ask someone, they will insist on condescension and references to your age.:dubious: somewhat like the op, actually. You really want to help? Write up some easy and clear instructions and request they get put into the FAQ, where they belong. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/43 "2013-02-09T23:17:48Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Please show me, from the FAQ, where instructions on how to use this button are? The instructions are: 1. Click the **quote** button. 2. That’s it. This will put the entire post in a new post, inside \*\*[noparse] [quote] [/noparse]\*\* tags, ready for your response. Then you edit the text within it to reduce it down to the piece you’re actually quoting. Be careful not to touch the tags themselves or it comes out all screwy. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/44 "2013-02-09T23:33:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Drunky Smurf** : > > Is there really any difference between. > > Chronos said. > > > [@](#): > > > > But it turns out that, for reasons I still can’t fathom, > > and > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > But it turns out that, for reasons I still can’t fathom, Yes, there apparently is a difference, given that several other posters got really annoyed by the former and not the latter (and I get annoyed by the latter, for reasons I’ve already explained, but whatever). I think that part of the annoyance was due to the way that the former interacts with this board’s lack of automatic nested quoting, but honestly, the lack of automatic nested quoting already annoys me significantly regardless of style. There’s no way I could have meaningfully done this post using the automatic quoting; I had to do it by hand and using copy-paste. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/45 "2013-02-09T23:58:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > There’s one thing I don’t like about the quote function; when idiots use it instead of italics or quote marks to quote something from outside the board. > > No, that was NOT “Originally Posted by President Obama”. (altho it would be cool if he \*was \*a poster, eh? I think you’re taking the “Posted” part of that terminology a bit too literally. Though, in fact, in many cases the quoted text _was_ originally posted–just not _here_. In any case, I like that form. It makes it instantly clear that this _is_ a quote, it boldly identifies the author, and the absence of the blue-arrow button shows that it’s drawn from outside the board. In the absence of a quote feature that actually allows for an incorporated external link, this seems just about ideal. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/46 "2013-02-10T00:06:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But it turns out that, for reasons I still can’t fathom, most people like to see quote boxes containing things that weren’t part of the quote, and that moving things that weren’t part of the quote outside of the boxes annoys them, so in the interest of keeping the peace, I’ve changed styles. But you’re still cutting out the link button! Why in the world would you take extra time to remove a feature that other people find useful? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/47 "2013-02-10T01:06:47Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > I think you’re taking the “Posted” part of that terminology a bit too literally. Though, in fact, in many cases the quoted text _was_ originally posted–just not _here_. > > In any case, I like that form. It makes it instantly clear that this _is_ a quote, it boldly identifies the author, and the absence of the blue-arrow button shows that it’s drawn from outside the board. In the absence of a quote feature that actually allows for an incorporated external link, this seems just about ideal. I agree. I use the quote function for off-board quotes, and I prefer when other people do the same. Tiny quotation marks are easy to miss among walls of text, and italics for anything other than a short quote gets annoying to read. I think using the quote function for off-board quotes is ideal because it clearly delineates that something is not the words of the poster. Quotation marks and italics are not only easily missed, but since they’re also often used for purposes other than quoting, it can sometimes get ambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/48 "2013-02-10T03:55:27Z")
[quote=“GuanoLad, post:43, topic:649339”] The instructions are: 1. Click the **quote** button. 2. That’s it. This will put the entire post in a new post, inside \*\*[noparse] > [@](#): > > [/noparse]\*\* tags, ready for your response. Then you edit the text within it to reduce it down to the piece you’re actually quoting. Be careful not to touch the tags themselves or it comes out all screwy. But is there an easy way to do nested quotes? If there is I haven’t figured it out yet and cutting and pasting to get it that way is a pain. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/49 "2013-02-10T04:10:55Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Yer showing yer age dude (or lack thereof). 😛 Or just his lack of early nerdosity; I’m a couple/few years younger than he is and I loved usenet back in high school. 😛 I still have the two tshirts and the coffee mug I got when alt.gothic.fashion decided to get some made for the newsgroup. There was a design contest and everything. \*alt.gothic.fashion: we look good so you don’t have to. \* Ahhh, memories. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/50 "2013-02-10T04:16:22Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > But is there an easy way to do nested quotes? If there is I haven’t figured it out yet and cutting and pasting to get it that way is a pain. We had “automatic” nested quotes for a brief time–it was as easy as clicking the quote button. But the board admin disabled it because too many posters were somehow screwing it up. It still boggles my mind that so many people could fuck up such a simple thing, and that so many people got their panties in a twist over it. This is why we can’t have nice things. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/51 "2013-02-10T06:08:44Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > It makes it instantly clear that this _is_ a quote, it boldly identifies the author, and the absence of the blue-arrow button shows that it’s drawn from outside the board. In the absence of a quote feature that actually allows for an incorporated external link, this seems just about ideal. No, as Chronos post has shown, you can quote using the quote function without a blue arrow. And there is a quote feature for outside quotes : President Obama said “_Hope_!”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/52 "2013-02-10T06:10:35Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > But is there an easy way to do nested quotes? If there is I haven’t figured it out yet and cutting and pasting to get it that way is a pain. Why do you want to do nested quotes? They look ugly and give me a headache. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/53 "2013-02-10T08:02:30Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Has anyone ever pointed this out to said to poster, and/or what was the explanation? It may not be the same poster, but there is a member here who (certainly used to and, I belive still) posts replies to quotes like they’re replying to an e-mail in 1992. Thus: Fred Bloggs posted: \>I like pie. \>It is tasty. I sent the person a friendly PM (with a guide to using the “quote” function) but never got the courtesy of a reply . That poster continued replying in that style long after the PM I sent them (and still does, I believe) so I figure they’re doing it deliberately for reasons best known to themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/54 "2013-02-10T09:13:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Why do you want to do nested quotes? They look ugly and give me a headache. Sometimes they are the simplest way to make clear what one is responding to–to set the last comment in the context of what _it_ answered. This is especially true in busy threads. > [@DrDeth](#): > > …you can quote using the quote function without a blue arrow. Yes, but why would you want to? The linkback button is useful/desirable for some of your readers, and seems pretty unobtrusive. > [@DrDeth](#): > > And there is a quote feature for outside quotes : President Obama said “_Hope_!”. Yes, fine, for a few words only. But if I’m quoting, or reading, a passage of a few sentences or more, it makes sense to delineate it the same way as other quoted passages. In other words, if there are two paragraphs in _my_ post that _aren’t written by me_, _that_ distinction is much more important than the distinction between paragraphs that originally appeared on the SDMB and elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/55 "2013-02-11T00:08:09Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > We had “automatic” nested quotes for a brief time–it was as easy as clicking the quote button. But the board admin disabled it because too many posters were somehow screwing it up. That, and nested quotes suck. > [@Peremensoe](#): > > Sometimes they are the simplest way to make clear what one is responding to–to set the last comment in the context of what _it_ answered. This is especially true in busy threads. That’s what the multi-quote button is for. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/56 "2013-02-11T00:20:06Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > That, and nested quotes suck. What don’t you like about them? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/57 "2013-02-11T00:42:33Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Fred Bloggs posted: Great Googly Moogly, it has been about 30 years since I last saw the go-to imaginary name “Fred Bloggs.” Nostalgia hit! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/58 "2013-02-11T01:00:26Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > > [@Peremensoe](#): > > > > > [@DrDeth](#): > > > > > > Why do you want to do nested quotes? They look ugly and give me a headache. > > > > Sometimes they are the simplest way to make clear what one is responding to–to set the last comment in the context of what _it_ answered. This is especially true in busy threads. > > That’s what the multi-quote button is for. Not really, no. The multiquote button can be used to gather the pieces to make a nest, but when the pieces are left separate they _visually_ indicate an assortment of separate bits, to be answered individually, as you and I each did in the posts above. This is not the same as a nested progression, as I illustrate here (though this thread is simple enough that it is perhaps not necessary otherwise). ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/59 "2013-02-11T04:10:30Z")
I’d like to request that posters stop doing the **@ so-n-so** bit. Just use the damn quote button and give us some context. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339/60 "2013-02-11T04:45:42Z")
@Shakes i know, i hate the #@so-n-so bit, too. #learn2quote [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-on-this-board-simply-not-know-how-to-quote-others-posts/649339.md?page=4)