Using the "Quote" function correctly
 

This is something that's bugged me since the function was incorporated into the previous board and it is again rearing its head here.

Can we see some restraint from users and positive moderation from the site admin in relation to quotes?

Please do not quote an entire message but rather quote only the relevant text. All you have to do is delete the non essential information between the "Quote" tags in your reply.

Your views on this would be welcomed.

For example, rather than do this

Do this

You'll note that next to the user name in the above quote you are given the option of seeing the post being quoted which renders the need to re-quote the entire post completely useless.

Thanks for the advice;);)

Great idea.

It's not a problem limited to discussion boards either, the number of emails I get from varying sources that quote the whole of a previous message to reference one line is a pain.
Back when I started on dial-up (2400 baud even) & BBSes that was very bad etiquette due to the time they took to download! now everyone is on broad(er) band that's not considered a problem I suppose....
So I'm a dinosaur :-)

Another thing that's been selectively 'moderated' recently (presumably due to the sheer weight of time involved to do every 'offending' post) is quoting the message that appears immediately above the reply post.

So here's the reply to the post that appears above.
Personally I don't see the point in quoting the post immediately above, and not even part of it; if you read down the page the reply should make sense like you're reading a (hopefully) sensible book, or a fine magazine like Australian Aviation.

Perhaps we can all make the effort to not just quote every post that appears immediately above where we're replying. This might also help remove the appearance of 'selective' moderating.

Couldn't agree more Nigel. Put simply, it isn't necessary.

There are some that think this method of posting is modus operandi however by following the correct procedure to alert the moderation team to these posts we can hopefully gain a neater, more efficient and legendary forum.

The correct procedure for reporting "Quote abuse" is the "Report Post" icon, click on it and offer forth a clear and valid explanation as to why the post should be edited/removed. This is the preferred method to the time honoured tradition of marinating the user in flammable material, firing up all four burners on the Webbebberkew and dishing out a whopping great grillin' :D

I'm sure, and don't quote me (couldn't resist the pun!), the moderators will agree.

Superfluous quotations
 

The Board offers the option of displaying threads with newest first, which is what I do, so that the latest contribution is at the top rather than the bottom, and the thread reads from bottom to top. So I only have to scroll down a few contributions to pick up the sense of any thread I've not previously followed. It probably saves me a few minutes per visit = 5 mins per day = 35 mins a week .... But I agree with the criticism of superfluous quoting.

Hi Nigel, you are quite right in fact, when on occasions there could be anywhere between 30 and 60 new posts to read each day.

Nig, great again, as it's certainly a valid observation. And thank you for pointing it out. As whilst we'd like to be able to 'fix' every post so it appears without the aforementioned "quote"; purely by coincidence, a Moderator may have missed some posts during their read. Everyone's understanding here is greatly appreciated as it's certainly not selective moderating we're applying, or any anti-favouritism at all.

In any case, the below solution should help alleviate any concerns.

Thanks Craig. That's twice for you in one week :)

an excellent feature, which I have used since the new board was upgraded

wish other boards had this facility too

Banjo

only trade off reading top down, easier if the « Previous Thread | Next Thread » function was at the top of thread

I find clicking on the "View First Unread" button at the top left of the thread when you open it comes in very handy. It skips down to the first new post of the thread and you can scroll down from there to subsequent new threads.

Don't know if this is an option that can be made available or not but what would help the quote system is if you could highlight the section of a reply that your responding to in the original message and then hit the quote function and only have the highlighted bit come up. I know when i do it i just delete what i dont need but especially in the big posts it would make it a lot easier and less work for the mods to keep removing unnecessay quotes.
Is this sort of option avaliable with the board software?

No, its not an option...your method is the preferred one -mod

I keep being brought up on it but it is pretty ridiculous when im quoting one line to be told not to quote whole post.

Some common sense is necessary here- i understand we dont want threads with 6-8 line quotes as it clogs etc but with 1-2 line quotes its just stupid to correct someone on it.

Would love some justification,

Cheers

Quite simply Matt, you will get pulled up for quoting the entire post directly above your reply regardless if it's one line or 10 lines, its not necessary and generally makes the threads harder to read.

If you want to single out a particular part of the post directly above yours, you can edit the quote and thats fine. For example; This is what all the moderators have agreed on as a standard approach to quoting protocol. We often don't have time to read each and every post, however when we see it being done, or if its reported to us, it will be fixed.

If you're responding to the immediately preceding post, as I am here, there is usually no need to quote anything. I only use the Quote function if I'm commenting on something from a non-contiguous post that needs to be included for context. It's pretty easy to edit out the portions of text that you don't need to quote. Sometimes, Matt_L, you only have to use the name of the poster that you're responding to if the intervening posts are short and the post being replied to remains in view for most people.

Fair enough guys,

thanks for explanation- makes total sense.

Cheers

Hi all,

Over the past few weeks, "quoting the entire previous post" behaviour has crept back into 'play'.

Please be reminded not to reply using the quote function for direct replies to posts in sequence, and also refrain from quoting the entire previous post.

Thank you.

This seems to be a continuing problem, please remember not to quote the entire above post. Repeat offenders will have posts deleted.

The situation regarding not quoting the entire above post has improved since the topic was last brought back to the forefront last December. Thank you everyone for your cooperation.

However in the past few weeks it has begun to resurface, quite often from users who post regularly on the board.

The Moderators have been simply removing these quotes as they have appeared, however we would appreciate everyone's cooperation to continue to allow this board to be easy to read.