2009.08.24
For commenters: Quoting one another
The comments section of this blog has become host to quite a conversation. We're excited here at The RT to see the active exchange of ideas and attitudes that's taking place here daily.
In any conversation, participants often refer to what others have said. Lately, that's become a little problematic in the comments section because it isn't always clear when a comment is quoting someone else or is original.
To help clarify that, here are some guidelines we hope participants will follow:
- Preferably, don't quote at all; instead, refer to the comment by number. Many people are already doing this, using the Twitter @ convention, i.e. "@Dan #9:" followed by a comment.
- Quote briefly, using the method above: "@Dan #9:" followed by the quote. This is a good method. It can be even more clear if you start the quote with <em> and end it with </em>. That will set the quote off in Italics.
- If you know a little bit of html markup, you can create a link to the comment you're referring to. To do this, first copy the link: Right-click on the time stamp of the comment and select "Copy Link Location." Then code the link: <a href="PASTE LINK HERE">@Dan #9:</a>.
The key is to quote as briefly as possible, and only the relevant portion of the comment you are replying to. Do what you can to make sure the quote is distinct and easy to differentiate from the comment you are making. In the future, we will not approve comments that contain quoted material that is not clearly identified and attributed.
And, as always, a reminder to keep it civil. The RT can and should be a place for people with different viewpoints to discuss issues civilly and respectfully. Personal insults will not be tolerated. If you see a comment that you believe is out of bounds, e-mail me and I'll look into it.
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I was the first one on here to use the Twitter convention (@Dan)... Jack FTW!
Comment by Jack — August 24, 2009 @ 2:12 pm
"The comments section of this blog has become host to quite a conversation"
I'm wondering how many members of the RTEB it took to craft THAT particular bit of diplomacy.
Comment by Kristen — August 24, 2009 @ 2:52 pm
Kristen...
Civility is a lot like chivalry...it's not dead...but it's sure battered and bruised to say the least. Dan does a pretty good job of keeping us in line. To be fair, he's nixed a few of my more "colorful" posts and probably rightfully so.
Comment by Will — August 24, 2009 @ 3:09 pm
Will, if nothing else we provide Dan with some good laughs for his dinner table.
And generally my posts that go "missing" I regret making anyway, so I can't complain.
Comment by Kristen — August 24, 2009 @ 3:22 pm
I may well be a full time job for the proctor. Thanks for the update. As a non Twitter person, I had no clue where that silly @ came from. I cling to the old school "your quote here" method and must admit it makes it harder to follow in some posts when I read them than when I typed them. Knowledge is a powerful thing and knowledge shared is even better. Thanks!
Not sure I get the and , and you lost me on the pasting links, but I will try to learn.
Comment by Sandi Saunders — August 24, 2009 @ 3:32 pm
I've actually never used twitter. But another blog that I frequent automatically creates quoted text using the @ symbol, so I started doing it here at some point.
I guess it seemed to catch on slowly at that point.
I think that the RTEB should switch over to real forum software, though, as this turns into more of a discussion forum rather than everyone just commenting on posts.
They could still start the threads, but if the conversation were threaded, it would be MUCH easier to follow.
Comment by Jack — August 24, 2009 @ 6:44 pm