Please quote just what's needed
- Peter Duggan
- Posts: 3226
- Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
- Location: Kinlochleven
- Contact:
Please quote just what's needed
A wee plea for concision/readability here...
When replying to someone's post, you rarely need to quote the whole thing. Sometimes, if it's short and you're the next poster, you don't need to quote it at all. (Caveats: I might go back to edit in a quote for clarity if someone else gets in while I'm typing* and/or my reply appears at the top of a new page.) If replying to multiple points from the same post, it can still be tidier and clearer to quote them briefly one by one, with the only real downside being the slight extra effort required to separate the quotes while replying.
*Which happens frequently because I sit agonising over words for ages!
Swathes of unnecessary 'quote' are as big an obstacle to fluent reading as oversized images.
That's all.
When replying to someone's post, you rarely need to quote the whole thing. Sometimes, if it's short and you're the next poster, you don't need to quote it at all. (Caveats: I might go back to edit in a quote for clarity if someone else gets in while I'm typing* and/or my reply appears at the top of a new page.) If replying to multiple points from the same post, it can still be tidier and clearer to quote them briefly one by one, with the only real downside being the slight extra effort required to separate the quotes while replying.
*Which happens frequently because I sit agonising over words for ages!
Swathes of unnecessary 'quote' are as big an obstacle to fluent reading as oversized images.
That's all.
- benhall.1
- Moderator
- Posts: 14819
- Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:21 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I'm a fiddler and, latterly, a fluter. I love the flute. I wish I'd always played it. I love the whistle as well. I'm blessed in having really lovely instruments for all of my musical interests.
- Location: Unimportant island off the great mainland of Europe
Re: Please quote just what's needed
Yes.Peter Duggan wrote:A wee plea for concision/readability here...
When replying to someone's post, you rarely need to quote the whole thing. Sometimes, if it's short and you're the next poster, you don't need to quote it at all. (Caveats: I might go back to edit in a quote for clarity if someone else gets in while I'm typing* and/or my reply appears at the top of a new page.) If replying to multiple points from the same post, it can still be tidier and clearer to quote them briefly one by one, with the only real downside being the slight extra effort required to separate the quotes while replying.
*Which happens frequently because I sit agonising over words for ages!
Swathes of unnecessary 'quote' are as big an obstacle to fluent reading as oversized images.
That's all.
-
- Posts: 453
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2017 8:19 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I can only hope that my proficiency with the whistle is steadily improving. A few of my whistles get a workout on an almost daily basis. And I'm almost certainly afflicted with WhOAD.
- Location: Detroit Metro
Re: Please quote just what's needed
Agreed wholeheartedly on both points. If quoting a previous post, I endeavor to quote only the portion I wish to highlight or extrapolate on. I alao resized some photos I took with the intent of posting here before actually posting them.Peter Duggan wrote:Swathes of unnecessary 'quote' are as big an obstacle to fluent reading as oversized images.
- Peter Duggan
- Posts: 3226
- Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
- Location: Kinlochleven
- Contact:
Re: Please quote just what's needed
Predictable (from someone... not necessarily you)!benhall.1 wrote:Yes.
- Nanohedron
- Moderatorer
- Posts: 38247
- Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.
Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps. - Location: Lefse country
Re: Please quote just what's needed
That's my philosophy.Peter Duggan wrote:If replying to multiple points from the same post, it can still be tidier and clearer to quote them briefly one by one, with the only real downside being the slight extra effort required to separate the quotes while replying.
As you say, Peter, some might be put off by the extra work, but if the point I'm making matters that much to me, then when quoting, I think I should show exactly what point I'm replying to. It leaves no doubt that I'm paying attention and not just rambling. I'm not sure I'd wholly agree with the word "tidier" when I find myself having to take apart an entire blackened page, assertion after assertion, and keep it all in one post, but it is clearer, yes, and importantly to me, it's on point.
But if only postcraft were always easy. We know that some have difficulty sorting out the quote process. Especially in paring down multiple quotes, I've found myself tripped up plenty of times. It's always fixable, but it can be frustrating.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
- Peter Duggan
- Posts: 3226
- Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:39 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I'm not registering, I'm trying to edit my profile! The field “Tell us something.” is too short, a minimum of 100 characters is required.
- Location: Kinlochleven
- Contact:
Re: Please quote just what's needed
So ignore that bit, which was probably just my way of stressing the 'clearer'! Though perhaps still also 'tidier' in cutting down superfluous word count?Nanohedron wrote:I'm not sure I'd wholly agree with the word "tidier"
Yes, it can be frustrating. But previewing before submitting helps to catch the gremlins, and I always do* (frequently multiple times).We know that some have difficulty sorting out the quote process. Especially in paring down multiple quotes, I've found myself tripped up plenty of times. It's always fixable, but it can be frustrating.
*Preview, not necessarily catch everything... though you won't spot many unclosed or wrongly-nested quotes escaping me!
- Nanohedron
- Moderatorer
- Posts: 38247
- Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.
Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps. - Location: Lefse country
Re: Please quote just what's needed
Sure, I'd go with that.Peter Duggan wrote:Though perhaps still also 'tidier' in cutting down superfluous word count?
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
Re: Please quote just what's needed
[Small revival - Mod]
AgreedNanohedron wrote:SurePeter Duggan wrote:'tidier'?
The Walrus
What would a wild walrus whistle if a walrus could whistle wild?
The second mouse may get the cheese but the presentation leaves a lot to be desired.
What would a wild walrus whistle if a walrus could whistle wild?
The second mouse may get the cheese but the presentation leaves a lot to be desired.
- Nanohedron
- Moderatorer
- Posts: 38247
- Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.
Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps. - Location: Lefse country
Re: Please quote just what's needed
Disciplinarian.walrii wrote:AgreedNanohedron wrote:SurePeter Duggan wrote:'tidier'?
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
-
- Posts: 1735
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:04 am
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Mercia
Re: Please quote just what's needed
(you will have to imagine that as a 4th nested quote)
-
- Posts: 1149
- Joined: Mon Aug 14, 2017 5:47 am
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Kickbiker - at over 70!
:lol:
....................................................................
....................................................................
Re: Please quote just what's needed
I'm with you, in the main, I too, hate to see pages of whole post quotes.
I also dislike it when someone quotes something from a previous post, which had a video, which is irrelevant to the subject in hand, being included, (doesn't happen much on here, but I'm on quite a few forums).
Also wish more people would use the 'smilies', as it makes posts clearer, where there may be misinterpretation owing to global location.
I also dislike it when someone quotes something from a previous post, which had a video, which is irrelevant to the subject in hand, being included, (doesn't happen much on here, but I'm on quite a few forums).
Also wish more people would use the 'smilies', as it makes posts clearer, where there may be misinterpretation owing to global location.
Keith.
Trying to do justice to my various musical instruments.
Trying to do justice to my various musical instruments.
- Nanohedron
- Moderatorer
- Posts: 38247
- Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.
Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps. - Location: Lefse country
Re: Please quote just what's needed
I was playing to walrii's reductionism. Even a Spartan might raise an eyebrow.david_h wrote:
THANK you. And it's a favorite topic of mine. I use them, but not because I think they're pretty or all the rage; I use them in the event that there might be reader misunderstanding without them, or to emphasize my emotional state. Sometimes I use them as david_h did above, leaving words out of it. There's nothing wrong with that. Detractors say that good writing shouldn't need smileys, and I agree in principle, but it also ignores the fact that through no fault of their own, some will never have the knack for good writing, so to blow that horn on a message board is sheer snobbery, pure and simple. Message boards are a different kettle of fish, because you're often responding directly to others of all types, as if in face-to-face conversation. Sometimes even the best writing cannot be equal to the need for a conversational degree of nuance on a Board like this, and wouldn't a good writer recognize instances when there might be such difficulty? After all, snideness might be mistaken for sincerity, or vice versa. Either way, in that case communication has failed. A good writer wouldn't leave the poor reader to guess, and too bad for them if they don't get your drift. In that case, why are you even posting? Simply to admire yourself? No matter how rich your vocabulary, if people can't understand your supposed subtleties, that can never be good writing whether you use smileys or not. I could manage without smileys, sure - we all could - but that's no reason for saying I ought to. Used well, they can help save a lot of time and misunderstanding. If someone looks down on me for it ... oh, well. Maybe they should try someone who cares, instead.fatmac wrote:Also wish more people would use the 'smilies', as it makes posts clearer, where there may be misinterpretation owing to global location.
And see? That didn't require any smileys at all. (oops...)
But there's also the opposite end of the spectrum, where some people do overuse and group them in a parade to the point that they lose their meaning altogether. And some don't even seem to have a clue that the smiley they chose is supposed to have an actual, specific meaning; it's just there, and for who knows what purpose. Don't care for those cases at all, myself. And sometimes there's just no call for it whatsoever. There was one case where I was having a group texting session, and upon learning that one of us was going skiing, another posted a downhill skiing emoji in response. I don't want to be harsh, but... c'mon. That was just plain vapid, never mind the waste of bandwidth.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
-
- Posts: 89
- Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:09 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Just starting out on the tin whistle journey and loving learning to play. Now at an advanced age, I still remember my recorder days from school and so, remembering where the notes are has given me a head start.
Re: Please quote just what's needed
I've cut down a couple of quotes.....but with an ipad, squidgy eyesight when I forget where my specs are, and an arthritic finger jabbing at 'select' in the menu, it doesn't always go too well
- Nanohedron
- Moderatorer
- Posts: 38247
- Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.
Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps. - Location: Lefse country
Re: Please quote just what's needed
Nah, I hate accessing C&F by anything other than a PC. I've used my smartphone for it when my laptop's belly-up or I've lost my connection, but them's dire circumstances.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
- oleorezinator
- Posts: 1625
- Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 1:21 am
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
- Tell us something.: I love uilleann pipes I love tin whistles I love flutes I love irish music I love concertinas I love bodhrans
- Location: Behind the anthracite and shale curtain.
Re: Please quote just what's needed
.
Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love.
Love is not music. Music is the best.
- Frank Zappa
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love.
Love is not music. Music is the best.
- Frank Zappa