Quotes - how do I do them?

[johnlees]

I must be really dim because I cannot work out how to use the "Quote" facility when replying to posts. Have tried FAQ but to no avail. Help!

[Dave Moll]

When you click on the "quote" tab at the bottom of a post, it takes you straight into the reply editor with the original text sandwiched between [ quote ] and [ / quote ] (without the spaces, of course).

Please delete unnecessary portions of the quote, leaving the point you wish to highlight clear and unambiguous.

Make sure that the quote/unquote functions are left unaltered, otherwise it may no longer be recognised as a quote.

...or is that not where your problem lies?

[Station X]

The trouble is that if I show you exactly how to do it all you'll see is some quoted text like this:-

This is a demonstration quote

Type [ quote] , but without the space before the q.
Then type or paste the quoted text.
Then type [ /quote] , but without the space before the q.

Use the preview button to see what it looks like. It's amazing how many people don't do this before posting.

Hope this helps.

You can also do [ quote=Fred Bloggs] which will give something like this:-

Originally Posted by Fred Bloggs

That's a nice radio.

Now I'm going to hit the preview button.

[tvden]

I must admit I just used to quote the whole lot this will now enable me to be more specific

[Paul Stenning]

Originally Posted by Station X

Use the preview button to see what it looks like. It's amazing how many people don't do this before posting.

Yes, please use the "Preview" button, and try to sort out any problems before posting. It'll save the mods and me some work fixing broken quotes and other similar errors that we regularly spot in people's posts.

[stuie319]

i'm glad someone else asked

[Mike Phelan]

It may be worth mentioning that if you only need to quote part of the original post, delete the rest of it for readability and to save clutter. You can put something like [ ... ] or [snip] where the middle of a sentence has been removed or it is necessary to know that there was more text there.

Of course, you can also use the [ /quote ] and [ quote ] tags to split the quote text so you can put your comments on individual items.

Samples of these two ideas:

Originally Posted by Norman Conquest

This pocket transistor set used a couple of 2N3055s in the output [ ... ]Tobey-Dinsdale configuration

PP3s did not last long either!

The tuning dial was made from walrus tusks

Be very careful when you remove these, especially if you have a dog.
__________________________________________________ ______

Look at the source of this reply by clicking on the Quote button, and that should make it all clearer.

[ppppenguin]

If you want to write separate responses to different parts of of the OP's message there's an easy way to do that too. Use the quote button, then copy and paste the whole quote, including the tags, as often as needed. Then trim each section as required. When you quote something that contains quotes, the quotes themselves are not quoted. I suppose it could get mucky with multiple levels of embedded quotes.

Originally Posted by Mike Phelan

It may be worth mentioning that if you only need to quote part of the original post....

Mike mentioned it.

Originally Posted by Mike Phelan

[snip] Be very careful when you remove these, especially if you have a dog.

Cave canem

[Paul Stenning]

Originally Posted by Mike Phelan

It may be worth mentioning that if you only need to quote part of the original post, delete the rest of it for readability and to save clutter.

Also there is normally no point in quoting the post immediately above your reply, as it would be assumed that you are responding to that to anyone reading the thread.

Quoting is useful when responding to a comment in an earlier post, as it shows what you are replying to.

[Mike Phelan]

Originally Posted by ppppenguin

I suppose it could get mucky with multiple levels of embedded quotes.

I occasionally put the entire OP's text in and insert comments, colouring or italicising either the original text or my comments, and use no tags at all.

Not necessary very often, and may have not done it here.

[Paul Stenning]

Originally Posted by Paul Stenning

Also there is normally no point in quoting the post immediately above your reply, as it would be assumed that you are responding to that to anyone reading the thread.

Quoting is useful when responding to a comment in an earlier post, as it shows what you are replying to.

I am bumping this point because several people (including some forum regulars) are still quoting the whole post above before adding their comments. It is a hassle for us mods and admins to edit these as we find them.

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by Paul Stenning

Also there is normally no point in quoting the post immediately above your reply, as it would be assumed that you are responding to that to anyone reading the thread.

The only exception to this might be if two people start responding to the same post at about the same time.

If the other respondant beats you to it, your reply will not be immediately below the post to which you're replying, which can make your post a little ambiguous. But I suppose you could always then edit it and add a quote to clarify.

Nick.

[Paul Stenning]

Exactly. You do have 30 minutes to edit after posting, which is plenty of time to put a quote in, or a note that it is in reply to Fred's comments at post #22.

[Paul Stenning]

I am bumping this thread yet again because some people seem to have problems with this (or are too lazy to try), which means we have to sort out increasing numbers of posts.

Just select the text that is a quote and click the https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...itor/quote.gif button....

[Paul Stenning]

Another bump for the same reason. Please read the last sentence of my previous post - it really is that easy!

[Paul Stenning]

Originally Posted by Paul Stenning

Also there is normally no point in quoting the post immediately above your reply, as it would be assumed that you are responding to that to anyone reading the thread.

Quoting is useful when responding to a comment in an earlier post, as it shows what you are replying to.

I am bumping this again as certain people seem to quote the thread above far too often.

This is causing the archivists considerable extra work in tidying up the threads for the archive, and in some cases has resulted in otherwise useful threads not being archived because they would take a disproportionate amount of time to sort out.

You do NOT need to quote the whole of the post immediately above as a single chunk - ever!

You may need to quote part of it however if you are responding to a specific point rather than the whole thread.

Sometimes it is useful to quote the post above but to break it into sections with your responses after each section.

If you are answering something further up the thread it is often useful to quote that post. However you often do not need to quote the whole post; just the part you are replying to.

If you reply to the post above then find someone has got in before you, you can edit your post (within the time limit) and add a quote. See whether it's needed though, as often it is clear what you are responding to anyway.

[Kat Manton]

I'm bumping this thread again as the moderators are finding we have to delete and trim unnecessary quotes.

Originally Posted by Paul Stenning

You do NOT need to quote the whole of the post immediately above as a single chunk - ever!

Please, as explained in this thread, (scroll up to read it, just like we all can to read earler posts without them being quoted,) only quote when you really have to.

If you need to quote, (replying to one point in a long post or replying to a much earlier post,) please edit the quoted section down to only what's relevant.

Cheers, Kat

(On behalf of the moderating team.)

[AC/HL]

It's been a while since this request was made.
Long standing members will doubtless be well aware, but there have been many Newcomers.

Please help us to maintain clarity on the Forum.

[dseymo1]

Not an excuse, but perhaps one reason that posts are quoted in full: it can be frustratingly difficult to select text when using some mobile devices. Not only does it require a fair degree of dexterity, but some iterations of Android are very badly-behaved, and simply refuse to place selection boundaries where requested.
Does anyone know a work-around for this?

[Dave Moll]

What I see most frequently is full quote of the immediately preceding post - which is totally unnecessary, so even that excuse wouldn't wash.