Long Quotes

[Hexsplosions]

I run a forum in which long posts are often quoted later in a thread, for reference purposes. This can start to look a little messy and moderators spend time trimming them down. It also results in excessive scrolling for those who don't want to read the whole quote.

I'd like to suggest Quotes are truncated after a certain character limit, e.g.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. 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.

Click here to read more...

Clicking then expands the quote;

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. 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.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat.

Sorry if this has been suggested before. I couldn't find it anywhere! :smile:

[GreenLinks]

I browsed couple boards that has this functionality and i can clearly say it is the most annoying feature i've ever notice on a community.

[Hexsplosions]

I browsed couple boards that has this functionality and i can clearly say it is the most annoying feature i've ever notice on a community.

I browse forums with this functionality and find it extremely useful. There we go. ;)

[Jυra]

I'm mixed on this. On one hand I want full control of my posts, but many users will quote whole posts without thought or need.

It would work best if it cut the quote only if the quote was not edited and was over a selected character limit.

[Hexsplosions]

I'm mixed on this. On one hand I want full control of my posts, but many users will quote whole posts without thought or need.

It would work best if it cut the quote only if the quote was not edited and was over a selected character limit.

That would work for me.

The problem is when many people quote the same post. The thread view is needlessly long. That's the point of the suggestion.

[GreenLinks]

You should always minimum number of clicks for an user to reach content. By having quotes collapsed , you basically force every user to click number of clicks on every page to read the interaction correctly. You should target having those clicks to your banners or other topics instead of quote expanding.
It may sound useful however it is actually a huge pain for the end user.

[opentype]

The problem is when many people quote the same post.

But then the users are doing it wrong – and therefore it shouldn't be solved technically.

I have suggestions about how to quote other people in my forum rules and when users do it wrong I just point them to the rules.

[Hexsplosions]

You should always minimum number of clicks for an user to reach content. By having quotes collapsed , you basically force every user to click number of clicks on every page to read the interaction correctly. You should target having those clicks to your banners or other topics instead of quote expanding.
It may sound useful however it is actually a huge pain for the end user.

It's the same quote content and most users don't need to read it. That's the point. Collapsed quotes that don't need to be read can be useful. I find this feature useful, hence I suggested it. To be honest, I would only want this as a configurable option anyway. Forcing a one-size-fits-all approach isn't always favourable. My way is not the right way, it's my preferred way.

But then the users are doing it wrong – and therefore it shouldn't be solved technically.
I have suggestions about how to quote other people in my forum rules and when users do it wrong I just point them to the rules.

I disagree. That logic means use cases are pretty much a waste of time and people should learn to use quirky software instead of working out the kinks. I prefer to make the software as suitable for the target audience as possible.

My audience are predominantly non-technical. I have trouble just getting folks to post images from Flickr! :lol:

[opentype]

Collapsed quotes that don't need to be read can be useful.

How so?
You need to click to open it or (at the moment) click the arrow to get to the original post. What’s to gain?

… and people should learn to use quirky software instead of working out the kinks.

The software isn’t quirky just because there are ways to misuse it.
If some people drive a car with the parking brake on, the car isn’t made poorly because it doesn’t offer a mechanism to work around that.
Quoting full posts just as a reference is pointless when the software offers automatic links to the original posts and forum users who don’t know that need to learn these basics.

[TwistedMerlin]

Isn't there an option to limit nested quotes?

[Hexsplosions]

How so?
You need to click to open it or (at the moment) click the arrow to get to the original post. What’s to gain?

The software isn’t quirky just because there are ways to misuse it.
If some people drive a car with the parking brake on, the car isn’t made poorly because it doesn’t offer a mechanism to work around that.
Quoting full posts just as a reference is pointless when the software offers automatic links to the original posts and forum users who don’t know that need to learn these basics.

We can agree to disagree. I have my use cases and for my community they are valid. I'm sure your use cases are valid for yours.

:smile:

Isn't there an option to limit nested quotes?

Yes, but that's not my problem. The problem is when somebody makes a really long post and then several people use the quote button in succession. The thread becomes needlessly long.

[Aiwa]

As a configurable option, I wouldn't mind this...

Even with quote embedding disabled, multiple users can sometimes quote a HUGE article that results in needless scrolling.

If a user has already read the quoted post, why not offer a way to hide it when quoted? If a user hasn't read the quoted post, be it on a different page or they got there from a search engine, they also have the ability to expand the quote and see what the reply is in response to.

Yes, you want clicks to go toward your ads or other such things, but we're not talking about users having to click 'expand' for dozens upon dozens of quotes... Just the one or two they may not have read yet.

Would I use it, probably not, but I see the benefit.

[bfarber]

I think you could probably pretty easily add a small javascript plugin to your page without actually "modifying" the software (outside of the javascript include tag in a skin template) to do this, both now and in the future.

[Hexsplosions]

Sounds like something for a good developer then, eh? :ph34r:

(not me, I can't code for toffee)