# It seems to me that some first responders frequently quote the OP in its entirety. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 5, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737 "2013-07-05T17:58:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/21 "2013-07-07T15:39:59Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > … I assume, **janeslogin** , you weren’t suggestion some sort of rule or administrative guideline? 😉 I was just seeking information as to why I was seeing this. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/22 "2013-07-07T16:19:44Z")
What I really find annoying (although, to be fair, it doesn’t happen a lot), is someone quoting the entire OP \*below \*their reply, like this: > [@janeslogin](#): > > It seems to me that some first responders frequently quote the OP in its entirety. Do I just have a hang-up in my observational skills and these things jump out and grab me or do these seemingly redundant quotes serve some purpose?? ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/23 "2013-07-07T16:37:15Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Trimming a quote (especially in Great Debates) can bring accusations of changing the context or meaning. Granted, that rarely is the case unless the posters are going back and forth with long, complicated discussions, but it does contribute to a cultural bias for quoting in entirety. I often want to respond to just a small part of a post, so I often quote just that part. I’m so paranoid about the possibility that I’ll be accused of editing to change the context that I almost always make it really, really obvious that I’ve quoted only part of the post. Of course, I’m almost always making a fairly trivial comment, and I’m never in GD, so it probably doesn’t matter all that much. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/24 "2013-07-07T17:44:21Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > What I really find annoying (although, to be fair, it doesn’t happen a lot), is Yeah, that’s the worst. > [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > someone quoting the entire OP \*below \*their reply, like this: ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/25 "2013-07-07T17:58:36Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > I haven’t been here long, but I’ve been ninja’d and double-ninja’d a number of times. Quoting is a way of making sure that you’re addressing the OP, rather than a comment that came up between the time you started typing and got around to hitting the actual Post button. This is why I do it sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/26 "2013-07-08T06:15:33Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Trimming a quote (especially in Great Debates) can bring accusations of changing the context or meaning. I always trim quotes, and no one has ever accused me of 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:** [July 8, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/27 "2013-07-08T17:19:56Z")
I’m having Usenet flashbacks. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/28 "2013-07-08T17:49:45Z")
[Me too!](http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1855.html) > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I’m having Usenet flashbacks. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/29 "2013-07-08T19:14:01Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > I haven’t been here long, but I’ve been ninja’d and double-ninja’d a number of times. Quoting is a way of making sure that you’re addressing the OP, rather than a comment that came up between the time you started typing and got around to hitting the actual Post button. I read threads as always responding to the OP, unless they quote someone else. I generally do not read posts as replying to the one above it (unless it is obvious). Am I the only one? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/30 "2013-07-08T20:54:31Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I read threads as always responding to the OP, unless they quote someone else. I generally do not read posts as replying to the one above it (unless it is obvious). Am I the only one? I dunno about “only one”, but it’s pretty clear that many threads contain multiple distinct conversations completely independent of the OP. As such, a response without quoted context might be assumed to be responding to OP, but such an assumption might be in error. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/31 "2013-07-08T21:29:47Z")
I think some people decide to chime in halfway through their reading of the thread and, rather than taking the trouble to scroll all the way to the bottom for the quick reply box or the ‘Post Reply’ button, they find quoting the quickest way to make their comment. Since they’ve already been too lazy to scroll down, it would be too much to expect them to remove the quoted text, even if it doesn’t help their post at all. But I don’t think they are all that common. The other reasons posted by others here are probably more prevalent. ---
**Author:** ![David\_H\_Singanas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@David\_H\_Singanas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_H_Singanas)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/32 "2013-07-09T06:16:26Z")
All of these posts after the original post fail to explain HOW TO TRIM A QUOTE HOW TO EXTRACT FROM A QUOTE If a responder is quoting in toto, the responder may not know how to trim or extract. When I highlight a line of another poster and then press “quote,” this line does not copy to my reply field. I don’t know why Dexter Haven did not pick up on this when the OP skipped the possibility of responders not knowing the trim and extract steps. She threw everybody off the track by using the term “first responder.” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/33 "2013-07-09T06:56:36Z")
Yeah, that backspace key is a tricky bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/34 "2013-07-09T16:23:51Z")
> [@David\_H\_Singanas](#): > > When I highlight a line of another poster and then press “quote,” this line does not copy to my reply field. Correct. “Quote” does not extract your highlighted bit only. Rather, it quotes the entire post to the buffer window and puts it into the edit window. You do your editing in the edit window, using standard typing tools, like backspace, cut, paste, etc. It’s not that hard. Though the wysiwyg editor version is slightly better for coding formatting. That would be the “A/A” button in the upper right of the editing tools block on the Reply page. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/35 "2013-07-11T04:02:15Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > I haven’t been here long, but I’ve been ninja’d and double-ninja’d a number of times. Quoting is a way of making sure that you’re addressing the OP, rather than a comment that came up between the time you started typing and got around to hitting the actual Post button. You just left this reply w/o quoting the OP and I think everyone figured out that you were addressing the OP. What sort of circumstance would come up that someone would mistake a quote-free reply as something off-topic? You can also say “To the OP:” which a lot of people do and it saves a ton of space. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/36 "2013-07-11T14:46:33Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > [Me too!](http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1855.html) Fascinating document. > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I’m having Usenet flashbacks. Sometimes I quote different posts out of order, based on info supplied supplied after the first post chronologically, but rearranged to show the logic of my post. Unlike here. But when I do it I feel bad because it seems like I am deliberately falsifying the record. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > I really think mods should hand out warnings for completely unnecessary quoting of an entire post, or at least suggestions. It’s an eyesore. To save time I quote two or more posts for different reasons but sometimes forget to give extra space between the sub-topics and it looks like I’m continuing the logic but I’m not. Then I feel bad about that. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/37 "2013-07-11T14:50:17Z")
But if I separate out the comments I feel bad too for, i dont know, looking like I keep ejaculating thoughts and cant keep it together. I’m still traumatized I guess from having a single fucking comma wrong because it violates a style guide. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/38 "2013-07-11T15:17:28Z")
Although when done it seems efficient, it’s kind of silly to cross-post by using only a general, time-based reference, which of course is useless after other threads have accrued–relevant to part of a recent comment I made in a current thread on the moderation of the issue of Damuri. I now recall I mention there the good and bad implications of such SD in-group behavior. It’s also annoying when you’re referring to a poster and you don’t boldface it, and then it becomes hard to tell what’s going on. _Especially_ if for one reason or another you don’t even know that that referrent might not even be someone’s name, but a place in Japan, say. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737/39 "2013-07-11T15:25:16Z")
Sheesh, and when the cross-referenced thread gets locked, my first point above–unless I’m his ninja-ed here–is true in spades. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-to-me-that-some-first-responders-frequently-quote-the-op-in-its-entirety/662737.md?page=1)