# Nested quotes have been discontinued **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 18, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502 "2010-10-18T01:12:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/41 "2010-10-18T16:36:46Z")
**Rhythmdvl** said: > [@](#): > > That absolutely sucks. > > … > > Whiny incompetents have ruled the day. “Whiny incompentents” is a label that can be applied both ways. Look at all the “whiny incompentents” that can’t manually stack a nested quote. Nested quotes puts the coding burden on the ones with least need. If you want to quote, you should be the one with the quoting burden. The more complicated you wish to make your quote, the more the burden should be on _you_. Nested quoting means someone has to remove unwanted material, with more code incorporated that they have to parse to remove. The ones with the least skill have to do the most work. How is that appropriate? Win for the good guys. Thanks, mods. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/42 "2010-10-18T16:47:55Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > **Rhythmdvl** said: > > “Whiny incompentents” is a label that can be applied both ways. Look at all the “whiny incompentents” that can’t manually stack a nested quote. > > Nested quotes puts the coding burden on the ones with least need. If you want to quote, you should be the one with the quoting burden. The more complicated you wish to make your quote, the more the burden should be on _you_. Nested quoting means someone has to remove unwanted material, with more code incorporated that they have to parse to remove. The ones with the least skill have to do the most work. How is that appropriate? > > Win for the good guys. Thanks, mods. Non-nested quotes are more work: it has nothing to do with incompetence. Those who mucked things up for the rest of us are failures at elementary cutting and pasting. You point out in your post that there is a burden. This burden is much less when the feature is restored. You also point out that those who couldn’t handle the nested quotes are the ones with the least skill. Whiny incompetents have ruled the day. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/43 "2010-10-18T16:57:56Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > There’s a weird (though completely logical) quirk where if you remove one of the \ tags (very easy to do by accident while trying to unnest) it would attribute the post to the wrong person. I had that problem and always had to replace the tag. No big deal. Its still much easier to edit out nested quotes than reconstruct a post to provide the context that can only be provided by the nested quote. Errors in editing usually show up on preview. If you have a problem with editing a post you can always not edit and still have a good reference to reply to. "That is the way it was until recently. But now, there are numerous times when you have to reconstruct a post which no matter how you do it takes considerably more time and is certainly subject to error that may not be immediately apparent and can lead to misattribution . ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/44 "2010-10-18T17:08:02Z")
Damn, One of the truly excellent functions on the board. I love(d) nested quotes. So, is this decision based on increased workload brought to the mods because of users incapable of cleaning up their own posts? If so, it’s a shame that lazy (or moronic) posters caused this function to be obliterated. A better solution would have been to force posters to hit the “preview post” button before allowing a post to go through. Maybe then some folks would realize how shitty their post looked and go back and clean it up. HAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry… expecting anyone to actually preview a post and clean up their nested quoting errors on their own (and you know, taking pride in their post quality to help folks understand what their point was) instead of posting a nested quoted shitstorm is a laughable request. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/45 "2010-10-18T17:17:07Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > No, it’s “Grrrrrr. Arrrgh.” Sheesh. No, it’s “GrrrrrrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH” with the second syllable in a high falsetto. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/46 "2010-10-18T17:26:06Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Damn, > > One of the truly excellent functions on the board. I love(d) nested quotes. > > So, is this decision based on increased workload brought to the mods because of users incapable of cleaning up their own posts? It looks like it’s more the inability to use preview. Heck, I’ve made coding mistakes too, but I check out my work in preview before releasing it on the unsuspecting public. Now I go to hit preview…looks OK, so I’ll hit submit… ETA: Not only was it OK in preview, but I checked it out in the actual thread, too. What I won’t do to avoid looking like a stupid incompetent. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/47 "2010-10-18T17:30:41Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Whiny incompetents have ruled the day. > > Sad day for an ostensibly sophisticated board. ☹ > [@Irishman](#): > > Win for the good guys. > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Whiny incompetents have ruled the day. > [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > If so, it’s a shame that lazy (or moronic) posters caused this function to be obliterated. > > … > > HAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry… expecting anyone to actually preview a post and clean up their nested quoting errors on their own (and you know, taking pride in their post quality to help folks understand what their point was) instead of posting a nested quoted shitstorm is a laughable request. [Moderator Note] This is ATMB. Casting aspersions or making moral judgments about posters on either side of this discussion is inappropriate, even if you are not naming individuals. Let’s dial it back. You should be able to have a discussion on the issue without denigrating those on the other side. There are pros and cons on both sides of this discussion. Properly editing nested quotes is _not_ an easy thing to do. I found myself often going back even to correct my own posts; fixing the posts of other posters sometimes almost required detective work to figure out the original attribution. In my personal opinion the benefits were just not worth the trouble. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/48 "2010-10-18T17:57:01Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You should be able to have a discussion on the issue without denigrating those on the other side. Could we make that a rule for GD, especially for political threads? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/49 "2010-10-18T18:12:06Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Could we make that a rule for GD, especially for political threads? Why not all threads? We need to be excellent to each other. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/50 "2010-10-18T18:31:44Z")
manually Remember [quote=“Musicat, post:46, topic:557502”] [quote] [/QUOTE[/quote] and then preview. Esay. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/51 "2010-10-18T18:32:43Z")
[quote=“Borborygmi, post:50, topic:557502”] manually Remember [quote=“Musicat, post:46, topic:557502”] and then preview. Esay. Wot? ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/52 "2010-10-18T19:31:48Z")
I liked the nested quotes. I had little trouble with them. Just hit preview and clean up the coding as needed. But I can understand the decision to drop the nesting; because I have seen posters get MAD AS HELL when quotes are mis-attributed to them. Even if the offending poster comes back to profusely apologize, they still get mad as hell. Not worth it, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/53 "2010-10-18T20:53:19Z")
The problem with letting quotes nest is that they then breed and multiply. If you let that go on indefinitely, the amount of space required increases exponentially and soon we’re out looking for another planet to live on. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/54 "2010-10-18T21:05:14Z")
**Rhythmdvl** > [@](#): > > Non-nested quotes are more work: it has nothing to do with incompetence. You’re the one who brought up incompetence. > [@](#): > > You point out in your post that there is a burden. This burden is much less when the feature is restored. > > You also point out that those who couldn’t handle the nested quotes are the ones with the least skill. The burden is _different_. The burden when nested quoting exists is for people who don’t know how board coding works to try to quote with an automatic feature, then either over quote, or misedit. Without nested quotes, the quote misattribution is far less likely. Note that part of the problem is that the quoting is done by inline tags rather than by wysiwyg editing. That would simplify editing for everyone. But this thread is about nested quotes, not fixing the way vBulletin works. And note that even Mods complain that they have misedited their own nested quotes, and they presumably know how board coding works. Given that multiquote exists, nesting quotes is not particularly necessary. And multiquotes can be manually nested with simple copy/paste, the same feature you imply is a simple skill for everyone to know. Therefore, you should have no objection to wielding said copy/paste yourself, rather than expect others to wield copy/paste for you. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/55 "2010-10-18T21:11:11Z")
I didn’t even know we had the feature to being with! I’ve just become used to doing them manually from another vBB board I’m on that doesn’t use nested quotes ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/56 "2010-10-18T22:34:34Z")
Throwing out the baby with the bathwater. I’d never have mentioned getting misattributed in a thread if I’d know this was a possible outcome. ☹ ---
**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:** [October 18, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/57 "2010-10-18T22:41:45Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I’d never have mentioned getting misattributed in a thread if I’d know this was a possible outcome. ☹ You were far from the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/58 "2010-10-18T23:05:14Z")
So this is being discontinued because of the occasional accidental misattribution? That seems like a non-problem to me. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/59 "2010-10-18T23:44:55Z")
I just made a couple posts that used nesting, done manually; I’m glad the automation is gone. Occasional accidental misattribution perhaps wasn’t a huge problem, but it was a problem. _Having_ auto-nested quotes didn’t solve any comparably-sized problem the other way. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502/60 "2010-10-19T00:21:06Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > So this is being discontinued because of the occasional accidental misattribution? That seems like a non-problem to me. My reading indicates that the misattribution is far more than occasional. It’s extremely frequent, and especially in GD and the Pit misattribution raises quite reasonable ire. That said, I don’t get the problems people have had with it. If a poster only wants to reply to the last quote, all they need to do is strip out the inner quote(s) from the nest. It does require paying attention to what you’re highlighting for deletion; I guess there are a lot of posters who can’t or won’t do that. And, that said, nested quoting has not turned out to be as useful as I thought and hoped it would be, and I have no problem with going back to coding my posts manually so that they appear as I wish them to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nested-quotes-have-been-discontinued/557502.md?page=4)