Quote & Multi-quote Feature

[Eggman]

Many forum users know & use the forum Quote feature. It's super-helpful to know which post (or posts...) are being addressed.

But did you know there was a way to quote multiple posts? Look for a small button found at the lower-right corner of a post - it looks like a quotation mark in a dialog bubble with a plus sign. Click on it and it and the plus sign changes to a check mark. Select another post in the same manner, then choose Reply With Quote - the selected posts will be included in your reply.

[Mark]

But did you know there was a way to quote multiple posts? Look for a small button found at the lower-right corner of a post - it looks like a quotation mark in a dialog bubble with a plus sign. Click on it and it and the plus sign changes to a check mark. Select another post in the same manner, then choose Reply With Quote - the selected posts will be included in your reply.

I learned something today.

I will add that I (& many others) removed some of a person's quote so that they know what particular part I am referring too.

[Eggman]

I use that alot, but try to avoid trimming so much of a post that it loses context.

I haven't used the multi-quote much. I only learned about it somewhat recently. But I can see it's usefulness. Before I would visit the relevant posts to copy the text needed. This is faster.

[inuvik]

I never knew about multi-quote before so I can definitely see the usefulness of it. Nice!

[MetroMPG]

But did you know there was a way to quote multiple posts?

No I did not.

I learned something today.

So did I!

I can definitely see the usefulness of it. Nice!

Agreed! :-D

[Marklovski]

Its a useful feature I used back when MangaFox was still a thing. Easy way to communicate with multiple people with one post.

[Fummins]

I try to avoid trimming so that I only learned about it somewhat recently I can see it's usefulness I would visit the relevant posts to the text. This is faster.

I agree

[Eggman]

Our forum software vBulletin uses what's called Basic BB Code for formatting posts. There is a BB Code reference that explains the various tags and how they are handled (or parsed.)

Most (all?) tags are enclosed in [brackets]. A [bracketed tag] will tell the forum software when to begin acting on the tag. The same command prefaced with a forward slash like this [/bracketed tag] must be included to tell the forum software when to stop acting on the tag. If the starting command or the closing command is either missing, incomplete or incorrectly used, the tag won't work. It's all in the brackets.


Here is the entry for the use of Quotes:


The [quote] tag allows you to attribute text to someone else.

Usage	Comments	Example Output
[quote]Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet[/quote]	Basic command	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
[quote=Joe Mama]Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet[/quote]	Add an equal sign and text for who or what the quote is to be attributed to	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
[quote=Joe Mama;Post#]Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet[/quote]	Add a semicolon and the post number to tell the forum software which post to link to and the magic blue pointer icon gets included. This links to the original post - helpful in case anyone wants the full context of the conversation.	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

This formatting can be seen when using the Reply With Quote feature found at the bottom right of every post.


The basic Quote command indicates someone or something is being quoted, but that's limited. Better yet to have the original cited and linked so anyone can visit the original for context. This is especially helpful when quoting an outside source, such as a news site or a manufacturer. However, since vBulletin cannot link an outside URL in a [QUOTE] tag, it has to be linked with the [URL] tag in a separate line.


Many posts cover a lot of ground. I sometimes break up quotes into sections or topics and address each individually to help make better sense of the dialog. Including the User name and post number in the command links back to the original post to show that I'm not just making stuff up. Also, this can be used to quote posts in other threads. Rather than making others search for that post & its thread, I include a link to the post and readers can browse the whole thread.


Oftentimes someone makes a post but the BB Code tag gets mangled - usually a bracket is missing. If I can I'll edit the post and fix the BB code to get the formatting to work the way the poster intended. I'll try to do this without mangling the original intent. I sometimes use the [video] tag to embed videos in posts, rather than be directed to Youtube or some such. I find it's easier to watch the video without leaving the forum, and embedded videos usually include links to the video on Youtube in case anyone wants to watch it there.


Hope this helps someone.

[Ares]

should I feel bad and think I'm a forum wh0r3 for knowing this?