I’m new here (obviously) and I’m still getting
the hang of it all. Could someone please go over
the basic procedure for quoting a post and then
posting it in a reply? And what happens when
you do all that? (What screens will come up,
etc.)
Thank you
Romana
You can test it in this forum. Try clicking the “Quote” icon at the bottom of this post and see what happens!
Okay, I have. But now I have your entire post.
How do I just grab a section?
Romana
Delete the parts you don’t want with backspace or delete, in the reply window where you type your reply.
Okay, thank you.
What do I do if I want to quote from several other posters
in one reply?
Romana
In the Reply window (where you type), the rest of the thread is displayed in reverse chronological order below. You can copy-and-paste from there into your reply, and add codes around the quoted parts:
[ quote ] [ b ]Text goes here[ /b ] [ /quote ]
(without spaces inside the brackets)
Essentially, if you just duplicate the codes you see when you use the regular quote function, all will be made clear. (When you copy-and-paste, you’ll have to add the person’s username manually:
[ quote ] [ i ]Originally posted by someperson [ /i ]
[ b ]Quoted text [ /b ] [ /quote ]
Now you try it again!
Okay, let’s see what happens…
Romana
Well, that was a little rough around the edges,
but I think I’m getting the idea.
Thank you Scarlett67 and racinchikki. You’ve been
very helpful.
One more question?
How do you get the bold font for names that I have
seen people use around quotes or mentions of other posters?
Romana
Same way you did it within the quotes:
[ b ]Romana[ /b ] (again, without spaces in brackets) gives Romana.
Another hint: Whenever you see some coding trick in a post that you’d like to try, just click the Quote icon to see how they did it! You can always practice in the About This Message Board forum – that’s one of the reasons it’s here.
You can also click the “Smilies” link above the reply window to see how to make smilies. 
That’s really cool!
Thank you, Scarlett67.
How do I post links that have their own name?
I mean, I’ve seen people say things like
Go [here] and the word here will be a link.
Is that done through AOL?
Thanks again
Romana
Type the following:
You’ll find the Straight Dope Message boards {url=“http://boards.straightdope.com”}here{/url}.
replacing the {} with .
Or hit the quote button to check what I did here.
That help?
Also, when you click ‘reply’, there’s a screed like this
Forum Rules:
Who Can Read The Forum? Any registered user or guest.
Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered user.
Who Can Post Replies? Any registered user.
Changes: Messages CANNOT be edited by their author. Messages CANNOT be deleted by their author.
Posts: HTML code is Off. Smilies are On. vB code is On. [IMG] code is Off.
towards the top of the screen. The “vB” will link you to a FAQ about more code tricks.
This thread details vBulletin code.
Thank you, tavalla and AudreyK.
The info looks very helpful, and I appreciate it.
Romana
Welcome to the SDMB, Romana.
BTW, the Doctor wants his dog back.
Thank you, Czarcasm.
Sorry to dissapoint you (and him),
but FTR E-space messed up his circuits,
and he can’t return to your universe.
Anyway, he can get one of the other
ones from Sarah or Leela, if he likes.
Romana
He did mention something about silly human females absconding with the only reliable Companions he ever had, but I have no idea what he might have been talking about.
Which Romana are you? 
The one married to Dawkins or the first one? By the way, you don’t have to hit “return” at the edge of the posting window. The post will wrap to the size of the window by itself.
Y’know, when you told the Doctor that the Tardis wasn’t big enough(?!?) and that you wanted your own “space”, he had no idea you meant a whole universe!
Why, whatever do you mean? I am the Romana, currently in my third regeneration as a poster on the SDMB.
Well, he wasn’t refering to me then- I’m neither silly nor human.
Romana
Obviously he was refering to the other two gits
As far as I know, he didn’t bring up the subject of Gallifreyan busybodies who led him on wild goose chases, made his dog sick, then became the most cutist(but most pain-in-the-posterior) President he’s ever had the pleasure to have ignored. You want I should bring up the subject the next time he’s in town?