Bitcoin Forum

Seen numerous thread advising forum users on proper use of the qouting feature of the forum but haven't seen any tackle the appropriate format to qoute reply a post or isn't there an appropriate way to quote reply a post? Currently I have seen two format of quote replying a post which includes;
1: Quote a post before writing your reply.
2: write your reply before qouting the post you intend replying to.

Although the first is more famous and widely used than the second, which do you consider or prefer to be the most appropriate? In my opinion I would go with the first as it makes the reader understand you easily but the second break the flow of reading especially when the OP is replying to multiple posts, it becomes confusing which post is meant for which reply. Also, don't get the idea behind reading a intended reply before reading the main post that reply was meant for. What's your opinion on this?.

If it's a conversation - yes, it makes sense to post your reply after the quote you're replying to. But if you're quoting something to substantiate your opinion for example - it would make sense say something like "I think this and that because: <quote>". Also I sometimes go reply-first in PMs - seems to be more convenient to read the reply immediately rather than scroll down, since usually the other person already knows what we're talking about, and it's similar to how e-mails are quoted.

My personal way of going about this which honestly I don't always abide by;

Formulate your reply to the original threads contents first to assure you are remaining on topic. After that quote any user you wish to reply too with the quote tags. Directly beneath that include your reply to that quote removing as much white space as possible. There are a few users that reply their reply, and then quote, but all that does for me personally is destroy the fluidity of the thread. Although, every user has their preferences, and  that's alright by me.

A lot of users do this mainly for the fact that you mentioned. Usually, the user already has a good idea what their last reply was, but including a quote near the bottom of your email/PM will refresh their memory a little bit. I usually treat it the same in PM's that I do as if it was a reply on a thread, though.

I think the first option is the most appropriate method of quoting a reply, though the latter also can be used to good effect.
When I read a quoted reply, I always read firstly what was quoted by the OP,  this helps me to then understand what exactly the OP is replying to or what he's trying to say. So I prefer the quoted part of the text cones on top, so users can read it first, before reading the reply to it below. It makes discussions orderly and apt.

If it comes after the reply, it could give the reader a second or two in connecting the reply, to the quote at the end, and for people with low level of understanding as well as newbies, it may pose a little headache for them.

Quotes clutter the thread, so before quoting, make sure that the quotation is really required, For example, it is rarely necessary to quote a post when replying immediately after it. It is also unlikely that a full quotation of the OP is needed. If addressing a post to a particular member, then consider using @membername rather than a quotation. Alternatively, use a snip sequence such as >..< ( meow )  ~ (tilde), -snip- ../ (partial snip). Nested quotes are never a good idea, and neither is the reposting of an image, and doing either ( or both ) can mean that your post is ignored by the reader.

If you do need to use a quotation, then select the point to which you are replying, and snip the rest. Failure to use the quotation feature responsibly indicates disrespect of your readers, and gives the impression that you have limited communication abilities, in my opinion.

For the OP, what suchmoon said.  But Jet Cash's point is important too.



Definitely something I need to be more conscious of when I'm posting on my phone.  Been guilty of that one a few times lately.  

I do need some help on that front, though, so I'll ask it here as it's kind of on-topic.  On my old phone it never had this "feature", but I now get this weird 'zoom-all-the-way-in-for-seemingly-no-reason' when trying to select text to remove from a quote and it's really annoying.  Does anyone know how to turn it off?  Android/Chrome if that helps.

There are quite a few things which we need to keep in mind while quoting or replying to topics. The reply which is we post is to make other's read our opinion and not just to quote long replies and to add a one-liner which is very often seen in the Altcoin and Gambling sections of the forum. I prefer to use ^[1] instead of ^[2] since you are certainly replying to that particular post. Adding to that, I would always be using ...snip... for quoting long replies or to quote nested quotes. The latter ^[2] will be used when you are giving an example of other's post from other topic or the same topic itself.

If we need to answer long posts which has quite a handful of questions hammered within themselves, it's required to quote those particular questions and add replies to the same. This will make the reply more readable and will help the user who created the questions. A perfect example for this could be : How do nodes validate blocks, then update their own versions of the blockchain? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5190926.0). Here achow101 replied to the topic immediately after the OP but the post requires the OP to be quoted in parts and without doing the same will be literally very difficult for us to follow or understand the post.

I rarely quote nested quotes but if I meant to do so, I would delete all the older replies and would have the new post for which I am replying to. This is the primary problem with people posting in Altcoin Discussion and Gambling Discussion where they would quote long walls of text and at times it's quite frustrating to read the replies in both these sub-sections. With SMF forums being considered, these quoted posts are displayed right below or above the replies but if you consider other discussion forums the quotes would be either aligned completely to the left or to the right.

I use Firefox on mobile and have never had such an issue. Might be worth a look.

Some Android versions also have a specific text editing keyboard which you can pull up instead of your normal keyboard, with arrows keys, "select", "select all", cut/copy/paste, etc. If you long press on whatever button you usually do to bring up the icons for keyboard settings, emojis, etc., the icon should be in there. Alternatively in your keyboard settings, you may have an option to enable a keyboard toolbar or similar, which will have the icon on it. Even without the zoom issue, I find it way easier to edit on phone using arrow keys than trying to accurately select the start and end points of a selection with my finger.

---

To answer OP, I agree with majority of other answers in this thread. Quote first, reply second. If I am replying to someone's entire post, I'll quote them and just type -snip-. If I am replying to individual parts of a post, I'll just quote the relevant sections, trimmed down as much as possible (as I just did above) and with nested quotes removed.

Normally,I don't like to quote the post if I am going to reply to OP,but if I wanted to reply to particular portion then only will quote that particular section from total line said.But when I am in discussion at a thread I will quote the post not the entire old nested quotes,but if there is a need,I also quote multiple quoted post on rare occasion.Only thing I want to ensure while replying to post,is this readable and understandable to others.

This in particular makes any thread look untidy and makes it difficult to read, especially as the user is almost always referring to the most recent text.
I usually quote before writing (as I did in this reply) and only include the portion I am directly addressing. When replying the whole text I usually use an ellipsis

What of if I don't want to quote the person and want to type the person name in my own reply will the person know?

Of course you can, but you should use this bot to get notified on every mention and merit you get on this forum. [TelegramBot] Merit watcher and Mention Notification Bot (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5209107.0)

This telegram bot should work well on all users as described by the owner and help them to quickly find out who provided him merit or mentioned him in a post. I use it too.

Only if they are subscribed to one of the several third party notification services which have been set up by some forum users. The forum does not have its own notification function for mentions.

I share your opinion, and I have to admit that there is a certain percentage of forum users who abuse this option. These are classic shitposters that try to disguise themselves in this way, and especially irritating are those that quote images that are already inappropriate for the forum in their size. Sometimes I report such posts, and some mods obviously agree that this is not appropriate behavior - most of such posts are deleted.

I would also point out that an inexperienced user may have trouble editing posts that consist of multi-quote posts, as they need to know exactly what needs to be edited to make the post look correct when it is published. Fortunately@ tbct_mt2 post a very good thread on this topic a few years ago, it might really be helpful to some.

[TIPS] to avoid pyramid quotes (for Newbies) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3749076.0)

Ok. It it a pay service or is a free service?

In addition to giammangiato's tool, there are three other tools that can be used for getting notifications when someone mentions you or quotes a post made by you.

[new topic]LoyceV's notification bot (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5331343.0) (Created by LoyceV)
[TELEGRAM]Yet Another BitcoinTalk Notification BOT (merits, mentions, topics,+) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5248878.0) (Created by TryNinja)
[TELEGRAM]Bitcointalk Notifier |merit and quotes| push notifications | telegram (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5178331.0) (Created by hatshepsut93)

All of them are free.

To be honest, what format is appropriate is more of a personal choice.

I prefer to mix between two methods,

One which is number one in OP's list.
Two, At times I prefer to first write something as a general reply to the OP if the thread has not gone too long, then I try to check what other users have said and if I feel I should comment on someone's reply, I would quote that. I prefer to keep such replies chronologically quoted, but that again is a personal choice.

I think what newbies should avoid is to quote a complete sequence of quotes to end up in a quote pyramid and instead use the -snip- indicators.

Other than that every user gets their own style of writing and this is a good thing too.

I guess no one noticed that this is thread from 2019 that got bumped.

Anyways, I prefer to see the quote before the new reply. That way I know which post or what part of a post the user is replying to. Doing it the other way around seems unconventional to say the least.

---

That's not what the user asked. That bot, like many other bots, helps you to see posts and mentions of your name. It's not going to help someone else who doesn't use a bot to notice that he got mentioned somewhere. For that to work, they need to be subscribed to such a service themselves. 

Don't forget that many people use mobile phones to post on Bitcointalk. It is a tedious process to edit and delete big chunks of a post on a phone. No matter the experience of the user, this could also be a reason why we are seeing it. 

I was confused as to why CB would open such thread until I saw your reply.

And as usual, those newbies contributing to those necroposts. A few times I replied to those threads only to realize they were posted ages ago.