# Is it okay to use \ to indicate removed text in a quote box? **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328 **Category:** About This Message Board **Created:** [May 21, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328 "2016-05-21T21:19:38Z") **Posts on this page:** 20 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler) #### Post date: [May 21, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/1 "2016-05-21T21:19:38Z")
I was just reading through a thread from a couple weeks ago, and I came across [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19306386&postcount=53) where **Miller** told **Der Trihs** not to change the contents of a quote box: > [@Supreme Courts Mandates and Lies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-courts-mandates-and-lies/753813/53): > > > [@Supreme Courts Mandates and Lies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-courts-mandates-and-lies/753813/31): > > > > > [@Supreme Courts Mandates and Lies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-courts-mandates-and-lies/753813/1): > > > > > > _\_ > > > > That is one of the very best examples I’ve seen of “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” > > [Moderating] > **Der Trihs** , altering someone else’s text inside a quote box is against the rules. Please avoid this in the future. > > No warning issued. > [/Moderating] … Crikey, what a pain it was to reconstruct that post so all the nested quotes showed up. Anyway, I have, on occasion, quoted text from different paragraphs of the same post by inserting the tag _\_ in a line between the two paragraphs. Is that actually not allowed? At one time I just used ellipses to indicate omitted text, but it doesn’t feel proper to fuse different paragraphs together that way. But if _\_ isn’t enough of a standard, I have no problem changing to avoid running afoul of the “no changing the contents of a quote box” rule. (I suppose one alternative would be to just place text from different paragraphs in different quote boxes.) Or is it just the _way_ **Der Trihs** used the _\_ convention to both remove all of the OP’s wall-o’-text and call it “lunacy” that was the problem? Thanks for any help with this. ---
### Author: ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense) #### Post date: [May 21, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/2 "2016-05-21T21:28:32Z")
The key point when removing text is to not distort what the person you are quoting is saying. For the example you are quoting “lunacy” is the problem. ---
### Author: ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase) #### Post date: [May 21, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/3 "2016-05-21T21:29:08Z")
Yes, it’s OK to use snip. No, calling the deleted words “lunacy” is not OK. Not only is that spelled out in our rules, I’m pretty sure it’s in the Magna Carta and that’s 800 years old. ---
### Author: ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern) #### Post date: [May 21, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/4 "2016-05-21T21:37:42Z")
It’s also okay to use ellipses. … ---
### Author: ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri) #### Post date: [May 21, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/5 "2016-05-21T21:51:49Z")
[quote=“C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven, post:11, topic:369395”] Falsely attributing a quote to another user, or modifying another’s post in order to cast him/her in a bad light, even if meant in jest, is grounds for revocation of your posting privileges. This does not apply to parodies to which no name is attached. Text inside [QUOTE] tags is sacrosanct. Normal editorial rules apply: that is, you may indicate omitted portions of a quote by the use of ellipses “…” and you may add text to clarify a word using square brackets (e.g., “her [the sister’s] friend”), \*\*but you may \*\*not \*\* add editorial comments or edit a quote so as to change the substantive meaning; nor may you substitute text such as “some blather” or “more nonsense” inside the > [@](#): > > tags.\*\* Here’s the rule. Note the bolded part. Using ellipses or \ is fine. Replacing text with “some lunacy” is not. ---
### Author: ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler) #### Post date: [May 21, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/6 "2016-05-21T22:12:56Z")
Thanks for the clarification. I hoped that was the case, but I wasn’t sure. I’d forgotten about the “some blather” part being spelled out in the agreement. ---
### Author: ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/7 "2016-05-22T00:10:13Z")
But another question remains to be clarified in this particular case: Is it okay to snip the _entire_ text of a quote? Aside from the “lunacy” remark, are we allowed to make a quote where the entire text is snipped and nothing is left? > [@Hypothetical anybody](#): > > \< . . . snip . . . \> Like that? ETA: And then, there was this: > [@chorpler](#): > > … [_ellipses in original_] Crikey, what a pain it was to reconstruct that post so all the nested quotes showed up. Congratulations! You are now a certifiable SDMB technical guru. From now on, people will be badgering _you_ with their quote questions! ---
### Author: ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/8 "2016-05-22T00:21:18Z")
Why would you want to quote nothing? ---
### Author: ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/9 "2016-05-22T00:48:02Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Why would you want to quote nothing? To make it clear who you are responding to. I don’t see a problem with it. ---
### Author: ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/10 "2016-05-22T01:38:24Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Congratulations! You are now a certifiable SDMB technical guru. From now on, people will be badgering _you_ with their quote questions! Oh, man! Well, do I at least get a mug for that? ---
### Author: ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/11 "2016-05-22T02:05:11Z")
Yeah, good luck with that. The last round of new mods hasn’t even received their cups yet. (You can have my mug when you pry it from my cold dead hand) ---
### Author: ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/12 "2016-05-22T02:09:15Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > Oh, man! Well, do I at least get a mug for that? I gotch yer mug right here! _hands **chorpler** a mirror_ ---
### Author: ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/13 "2016-05-22T02:16:57Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Here’s the rule. Note the bolded part. > > Using ellipses or \ is fine. Replacing text with “some lunacy” is not. So - the rule being what it is - and being as clear as it is - why was ‘no warning issued’ for a poster that has been here more than long enough to know better? ---
### Author: ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/14 "2016-05-22T02:32:25Z")
> [@simster](#): > > So - the rule being what it is - and being as clear as it is - why was ‘no warning issued’ for a poster that has been here more than long enough to know better? Miller can answer for himself, of course, but I would guess that since the topic was already in The BBQ Pit and the infraction is not one in which that poster engages regularly, a Mod Note to back off would appear to be sufficient to redirect the poster to better behavior. It is not the practice of any Mod, here, to issue an official Warning for every instance of every violation of every rule. ---
### Author: ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/15 "2016-05-22T02:54:44Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Miller can answer for himself, of course, but I would guess that since the topic was already in The BBQ Pit and the infraction is not one in which that poster engages regularly, a Mod Note to back off would appear to be sufficient to redirect the poster to better behavior. > It is not the practice of any Mod, here, to issue an official Warning for every instance of every violation of every rule. But this happens to be a ‘bright line’ rule - one in which posters have been warned for accidents - and this one was clearly no accident (again, by a well established poster). WHile I can appreciate leniancy - there seems to be times, and this being one of them, where its too well established to be a ‘note’. Had the poster been newer, had it been a clear error on the part of the poster in question - I would agree. Hell - did we not just have a HUGE thread on the rules on quoting? ---
### 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: [May 22, 2016, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/16 "2016-05-22T04:01:13Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Why would you want to quote nothing? If you were in a thread about the show _Seinfeld_? ---
### Author: ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/17 "2016-05-22T04:54:56Z")
> [@simster](#): > > But this happens to be a ‘bright line’ rule - _one in which posters have been warned for **accidents -** _ and this one was clearly no accident (again, by a well established poster). > > WHile I can appreciate leniancy - there seems to be times, and this being one of them, where its too well established to be a ‘note’. > > Had the poster been newer, had it been a clear error on the part of the poster in question - I would agree. > > Hell - did we not just have a HUGE thread on the rules on quoting? Really? Warnings for _accidents_? I’m no connoisseur of on-board _faux pas_, but I’m not certain I recall seeing anything more harsh than a reminder via Mod Note for an accidental violation, often with an explicit “no warning issued” memo. Could I have a cite? ---
### Author: ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/18 "2016-05-22T05:29:30Z")
The Bannhawken are right of course! We DEMAND that the mods review EVERY POST on EVERY THREAD to find EVERY MOD NOTE they’ve given in the last five years (they have to review every post because they can’t just check their records of mod notes – the board doesn’t keep a record of mod notes) and upgrade EVERY mod note that should have been a warning to BE a warning! EVERY LAST ONE! It’s the ONLY FAIR and BALANCED way!!! ---
### Author: ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/19 "2016-05-22T09:41:20Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Yeah, good luck with that. The last round of new mods hasn’t even received their cups yet. > > (You can have my mug when you pry it from my cold dead hand) My daughter came in, saw this post, and said, “You should probably just go ahead and let him keep that mug.” ---
### Author: ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler) #### Post date: [May 22, 2016, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328/20 "2016-05-22T10:01:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I gotch yer mug right here! > _hands **chorpler** a mirror_ [T3S]Oh, a wise guy, eh? Why I oughta …[/T3S] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-use-snip-to-indicate-removed-text-in-a-quote-box/755328.md?page=2)