Referencing quotes/text snippets

[TypoTonic]

Just sharing an idea I had in mind. You know those results from Google's AI overview? If you click the reference link, it would point to a specific content in the web page, and it would have a text highlight. (I've never really paid attention to Google's AI overview before, so this was new to me) It apparently uses scroll-to-text fragment in the url to achieve this.

So, I thought that this could be useful for referencing quotes/text snippets here in the forum. I think it's best application is when quoting from a long post.

Let's look at the difference. Below is an example of a normal snipped quote:

-snip- Bitcoin is free for anyone and freedom resides inside it; if you want to have control over your privacy and finances, all you need to do is to embrace it.

And here's the one with a specified text fragment:

-snip- Bitcoin is free for anyone and freedom resides inside it; if you want to have control over your privacy and finances, all you need to do is to embrace it.

If you click both links, the normal quote directs us to the start of the post, while the other directs us to the specific message.

To do this, just add  #:~:text={textStart},{textEnd}  at the end of the url, where {textStart} is the beginning of the text snippet, and {textEnd} is the end of the text snippet. Then replace the quote parameters with the url tag inside double quotation marks (""). Here's the opening tag of the example above:

Code:

[quote="[url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5255623.msg54620797#msg54620797#:~:text=Bitcoin is free,embrace it.]GazetaBitcoin on June 14, 2020, 09:34:23 PM[/url]"]

If you find it too much of a hassle to edit the quote parameters, you can maybe just quote the message and use url tags instead like the one below.

-snip- Bitcoin is free for anyone and freedom resides inside it; if you want to have control over your privacy and finances, all you need to do is to embrace it. (Reference)

It seems to work on most browsers. What do you guys think?

[Eternad]

I just click the “quote” button on the specific message and trim- copy the post including the quote bbcode is much easier step for me instead of changing the parameters.

User can still click to the mentioned author on the top part of the quote to go on the reference post. It’s simpler and easier.

[Alvin_talk]

Not a bad idea OP but I think the BBcode tag for this is not beginner friendly, I mean I feel it is quiete cumbersome compared to normal quote and snip.

For me I will still make use of the standard quote because the quoted text is already visible for everyone, so what will be the need to jump to it in the original post of the user? A quoted text only shows the portion you are interested in which sometimes alters the context of the OP, so It is better to view the entire post through the quote link so that you can understand the message the OP is trying to pass.

[rat03gopoh]

Testing:

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

If you use Chrome's "copy link to highlight" feature, you'll get a link to the same output. However, your discovery tag shortens the link.

Not a bad idea OP but I think the BBcode tag for this is not beginner friendly,

Yes, this tag is mostly used by advanced users

A quoted text only shows the portion you are interested in which sometimes alters the context of the OP,

and that's what the link to the original source is for readers and the quote feature for posters.
Sometimes a topic has a lot of context ⁽¹⁾, and advanced posters often use "anchor" tags to facilitate navigation. But if not (or fail to do so⁽²⁾), the op's findings are helpful.


1) https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=990345.0
2) https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5500358.0

[TypoTonic]

I just click the “quote” button on the specific message and trim- copy the post including the quote bbcode is much easier step for me instead of changing the parameters.

User can still click to the mentioned author on the top part of the quote to go on the reference post. It’s simpler and easier.

That's perfectly fine, since most posts are short anyway, and the full content is already visible.

If you use Chrome's "copy link to highlight" feature, you'll get a link to the same output. However, your discovery tag shortens the link.

I didn't know that feature, and I've been a Chrome user for years This makes it easier then, if the feature is available in the user's browser.

Not a bad idea OP but I think the BBcode tag for this is not beginner friendly,

Yes, this tag is mostly used by advanced users

Yup. That was my concern too, but beginners can eventually try to learn it if they want to. Although of course, it's the advanced users who are more likely to use/have fun with it.


Just to be clear, it's not meant to be a replacement for the standard quote. Like I said, this is only for specific use cases (e.g., when the post is long and/or you want the readers to easily see where the specific text is). See what I did there?

[LoyceV]

This is a cool (browser) feature I didn't know about. I don't think I'll use it, as it's more work and CTRL-F works fine to find the quoted test, but I can see it's use

[Lucius]

A useful option for those who want to improve their posts a little more, although I honestly doubt it will find many fans - not because it's not a "one-click" thing, but because simply too many members don't pay attention to how their posts look. I take into account the explanation that it is not easy for many people to edit quoted posts because they use smartphones, but then it is better that they simply do not use the quote option.

[TryNinja]

Here is a quick userscript that makes all the work for you.

Select snippet -> one click -> paste it!

Created a topic with the code here: [UserScript] Copy post quote snip to clipboard (with browser highlight URL)

GIF showcase:

[Donneski]

This will definitely be genuinely useful. A lot of our threads get cluttered because people quote entire long posts just to reply to one small line. But this will enable us to highlight and link directly to the exact part we are referencing to make conversations a lot cleaner.

I also like the fact that using it won't anything about forum structure. That said , I think the only thing I can see being an issue is if the post gets edited since the text fragment might not match anymore but aside from that, it seems like a really solid improvement for how we reference things on the forum.

Kudos Op for this helpful addition.

[Emjay24]

If you use Chrome's "copy link to highlight" feature, you'll get a link to the same output. However, your discovery tag shortens the link.

I tried this and got the link actually but the content is largely not readable

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5566346.msg66088307#msg66088307:~:text=id%20est%20laborum.-,If%20you%20use%20Chrome%27s%20%22copy%20link%20to%20highlight%22%20feature%2C%20you%27ll%20get%20a%20link%20to%20the%20same%20output.%20However%2C%20your%20discovery%20tag%20shortens%20the%20link.,-Quote%20from%3A%20Alvin_talk

I think the method contained in the OP is much better if you want to convey clear and concise information, Op Thank you for sharing this, it surely makes cool sense to have many options available.

Edit: As I was thinking it through, I finally got to understand what rat03gopoh meant, the link should be used for the URL part and not as the main content, you're right, that in OP is shorter, both still serves same purpose.
If you use Chrome's "copy link to highlight" feature, you'll get a link to the same output. However, your discovery tag shortens the link.. It works for other browsers too and not only chrome.

[joker_josue]

That's a very interesting tip. Thank you.

To make it easier, anyone who wants to use the tip (without using the TryNinja script) can use the right mouse button to get the link to the specific quote.
In other words, instead of manually typing the link, simply select the quoted text, right-click, and in the menu that opens, choose "copy highlight link" (or something similar, depending on the language and browser).

It works in Chrome, I'm not sure if it works in other browsers.

[Emjay24]

It works in Chrome, I'm not sure if it works in other browsers.

It does, I already tested on Opera mini and Edge

[LoyceV]

I'm not sure if it works in other browsers.

It doesn't work in Firefox.

[noorman0]

I'm not sure if it works in other browsers.

It doesn't work in Firefox.

Firefox v145.0 should support that according to the release notes, and I see they also provide more syntax and usage examples.

[TypoTonic]

Firefox v145.0 should support that according to the release notes, and I see they also provide more syntax and usage examples.

That's great. I actually like how it looks more in Firefox because the yellow-orange highlight is much more visible.

[Halifat]

That's great. I actually like how it looks more in Firefox because the yellow-orange highlight is much more visible.

it actually look great when you use it in Firefox. you can take a look