It would be good to have an option which allows for quoting nodes you are replying to. So, when you reply to a node it would quote it in your reply (maybe with a >, like email). This could solve two issues; 1) people would see the node you are replying to, and 2) would make having to cut/paste lines from a node into the reply (which is done quite a bit).

Cheers,
KM

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
RE: Quoting nodes
by Fastolfe (Vicar) on Oct 26, 2000 at 18:47 UTC
    Posts are already nested, so quoting doesn't serve much of a purpose here. Plus, I shudder to think how much more size would be added to the site in general with newbie posts posting 30 lines of quoted material and 2 lines of their own.

    Perhaps we need a better mechanism for getting the full context of a node, its parents and children.

[reply]
      For example, when I just saw your node on Newest Nodes, I clicked on it, but saw nothing from my node, which you replied to. I have no context without making another click.. I don't want to click. Now, someone will have to click to see the context of this reply! Bad UI.

      Perhaps we need a better mechanism for getting the full context of a node, its parents and children.

      I suggested a while ago that you can see the original node with the reply you are looking at. This is simply another way to go about it (same, but different).

      Plus, I shudder to think how much more size would be added to the site in general with newbie posts posting 30 lines of quoted material and 2 lines of their own.

      It's text, as far as we are concerned.. the disk space is vrooms problem if it is an issue. I am looking for a nicer UI so I (and assume others, unless I am the only one who refreshes Newest Nodes all day) can easily see what context a reply is in, as well as easily quote. If replies also showed what the reply was to (which would not add any size to the DB), then I would think the quoting would be redundant.

      Cheers,
      KM

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RE: Quoting nodes
by mirod (Canon) on Oct 26, 2000 at 19:01 UTC

    I'll have to disagree with KM on this one.

    I don't mind clicking, and I think the recent addition of the link to the grand-parent thread is more than enough to give one-more-click access to both the local context and the overall one.

    I _HATE_ quoting, it is _so_ often mis-used! Anything that allows quoting an entire post is a recipe for disaster in my (scared) opinion.

[reply]
      I'll have to disagree with KM on this one.

      Disagreements can bring out good solutions through compromise :)

      I don't mind clicking, and I think the recent addition of the link to the grand-parent thread is more than enough to give one-more-click access to both the local context and the overall one.

      Good point. I do like that that was finally added. But, it takes nothing more than showing the text of the post being replied to to show the context. This _could_ even be an option one could turn off.. so those of us who don't want to click don't have to, and those who don't mind can still click. I think it could be useful, you don't. Likely we both have people who agree with each of us.. which may make it a good option to have.

      I _HATE_ quoting, it is _so_ often mis-used! Anything that allows quoting an entire post is a recipe for disaster in my (scared) opinion.

      Yeah, I agree. Maybe it was an iffy idea, but I had to throw it out there since I find myself cutting/pasting and throwing in italics _constantly_, and that is a way to get around it.

      Cheers,
      KM

[reply]
      I just wish that the "link to root of thread" link also existed on the "Newest Nodes" page. I'd be happy even if it only existed for the "New Notes" section... I guess I'm just lazy as all heck and like context. Quoting's probably more than we need, tho.

      Just my 2 pfennigs.

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[reply]
RE: Quoting nodes
by ZZamboni (Curate) on Oct 27, 2000 at 03:22 UTC
    KM, I agree with you in that many times it's useful to see the context of a reply. I'll offer an alternative solution in the form of a shameless plug: have you seen Shendal's Perl/Tk Newest Nodes client? It uses my PerlMonks modules to provide a very nice threaded view of Newest Nodes. So what I do is that I usually click on the parent node of the one I want to see, then I get to see both the context and the replies with a single double-click. No more extra clicks!

    Note: Shendal is now working on redesigning some of the interface aspects of the program, so if it feels a little funky (particularly the buttons and the actions) don't get discouraged, it will change for the better!

    --ZZamboni

[reply]
      That's a great alternative for people to use indeed, but not an alternative for everyone.

      Cheers,
      KM

[reply]
RE: Quoting nodes
by Albannach (Monsignor) on Oct 26, 2000 at 20:20 UTC
    IMHO, quoting in news and e-mail in general is overused because the available options are all or nothing, and people who don't think of bandwidth ("well sonny, back in the early 80's before you were born I read news with a 300bps dialup...") their readers' time can't be bothered to properly edit. As someone already noted, the threading here is good enough that it is unusual that you even need quoting as context is easy for the reader to find.

    If I want to quote beyond the replied-to node, I simply open another browser, cut, paste, add a couple of tags and I'm done. While this is easy, it is some effort and makes me think twice about the usefulness of the quote - I think the existing situation is already optimal.

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