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Quick reply

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Berserker

Moderator
FAQ says there is a quick reply button, but darned if I can find it. All I see is post reply, which takes you what on most forums is the advanced reply page.

Seems like a waste of time, and miniscule data. Leaving in the country, the time is more annoying. Doesn't take a long time to load, but it takes time.

Vast majority of sites do not even require quick reply, you just type. But I have seen some. I figure it is just a canned set up from Vbulletin to have use it, but I don't know any that don't have it. Probably TFL.

I am using Chrome. Is it a browser issue?
 
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Evan Thomas

New member
The "Quick Reply" function was disabled here many years ago. The reason we don't support it is that it wastes more time than it saves. Folks would hit "Quick Reply" on a long post, pasting the whole post into their reply, only to answer just one of several questions, or even worse, type a "+1" at the end of the quote. This forced everyone to do a lot of scrolling and made many threads unwieldy.

It's much clearer when people quote just the part of a post they want to respond to, and it saves everyone's time. Compared to that, the time required for someone to cut-and-paste a quote into their reply doesn't amount to much.

If you'd like to read a guide to all the nifty things you can do when quoting, including adding the name of the person you're quoting within the quote itself, nesting quotes, linking to the original post, and a whole lot more, see the stickied thread at the top of this forum, "How do I quote from a post?"
 
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Berserker

Moderator
Quick reply is not quoting. It is just so you can type anything in a thread.

You talk about it in your FAQ as having it.

When you get to bottom on screen, usually there is a spot to type. Some sites you have to click on quick reply icon before you can type. On this site I hive hit post reply, which takes me to what most sites call advanced posting.

Is it a browser issue?

I understand your backwardsness about quoting. This is not quoting. Just typing.
 
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Mal H

Staff
Actually, Berserker is right. We used to have the Quick Reply function turned on, but I just checked the options and it's off. I don't know why it was turned off, but I'll turn it back on for now. If there was a good reason for it to be off, we can turn it back off just as easily as it was turned on.
 
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Evan Thomas

New member
I suspect that the original reason for turning it off was that it re-introduces the infamous quote button. I've messed around with it in the messing-around forum, and I can't see any great benefit to turning it on again. I'm in favor of anything that encourages thought between reading something and replying to it -- so I guess I'd vote for returning to the status quo ante.

The Quick Reply button makes sense in a forum where "Threaded" mode, with posts and replies to those posts shown tree fashion, is an option. Since that isn't an option on TFL, the Quick Reply feature serves no real purpose that I can see, unless it make things significantly easier for someone posting from a phone. That might be a reason for enabling it, I guess... otherwise, no.
 
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Mal H

Staff
I see, though, that it contains a "quote message in reply" box.
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That is true, and I thought a bit about whether we want the Quick Reply because of it. However, it's not quite the same as the old "Reply with quote" which was the one Evan is talking about, and the main reason the function was disabled. At least you have to check off a box to add the quote to your reply, so it's at least one step removed from the function we came to know and hate.

I noticed that "Reply with quote" was made an option instead of being automatic when the Quick Reply box was turned on. That had to have come in a later version of vBulletin and we never noticed it until now. I chose to leave that option off.
 
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Berserker

Moderator
the Quick Reply feature serves no real purpose that I can see, unless it make things significantly easier for someone posting from a phone. That might be a reason for enabling it, I guess... otherwise, no.
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This is the _______thing I heard today. Just today though. I can't say what _____ is though..


The logic is, it is good, to force people to wait, after they have scrolled down to the bottom of the page????????


Not all of us are city boys, with high speed internet. I have satellite.


Rather than saying it is bad, because it allows you to post to quick, how about ask the question why do 99.99999% of forums have it? I realize some like to re-invent the wheel.


They got rid of quote, cause it bogged down the screen, which I agree it can, but only 2 sites, that I on the internet i know of with this, but it is a benefit to open another screen??? Think about that for just a split second. Even without quick reply.

Scrolling down to bottom of screen through junk is bad, but scrolling down to bottom of screen with less junk, and opening another screen is good?


Funny part is, I was reading the FAQ trying to be learn the site. HaHa.


This site just needs to survive about 5 years, and will be awesome I bet.
 
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Berserker

Moderator
Quick reply is used, when you scroll down to the bottom of the page, and wish to type something. Most forums you just type. But some you click quick reply, I personally think it is cause they don't know how to set up their software.

Either way, most forums allow you to choose whether you just want to type something, once you scrolled to bottom of the page, or want to use most advanced features, in another screen.


Going to an advanced screen, would seem counter intutive on this site. I would think they would want you to just type, with nothing fancy added. Puritian. Going to the next screen allows, colors, bold, and different fonts. Which I am surprised are allowed.


I would give up colors, fonts, and bold, if I didn't have to quote like I was using DOS basic.
 
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Spats McGee

Administrator
Berserker said:
. . . . Rather than saying it is bad, because it allows you to post to quick, how about ask the question why do 99.99999% of forums have it? I realize some like to re-invent the wheel. . . .
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So what if other forums have it? We're not concerned with other forums. In addition to the matter of loading speeds for those of our members without high speed internet, we rather like the fact that our members have to put some thought into their postings.

Berserker said:
This site just needs to survive about 5 years, and will be awesome I bet.
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You do know that TFL is already older than 5, right?
 
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Berserker

Moderator
I realize the age. I just meant, I bet in 5 years you have it. Old members die off.

You think loading another page will make members have an epiphany, and come to their senses? Either way, you have to scroll to the bottom of the screen. I just don't see this as logic, but looking at ways just to fight. Digging for a shred, of why it would be a good idea. When more likely it just got changed on accident, or different version didn't get set up right when loaded. Like I said, I read about it in FAQ. Was their some great massacre that could have been prevented with an extra 3 seconds?


Eventually all the caveman rolled round wheels.
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
"Not all of us are city boys, with high speed internet. I have satellite."

So does Mal H.

And he does just fine.

Or at least that's what we tell him. :D
 
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Spats McGee

Administrator
Berserker said:
I realize the age. I just meant, I bet in 5 years you have it. Old members die off.
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I doubt it. Members have been asking about a quote button for well in excess of five years & we haven't resurrected it yet.

Berserker said:
You think loading another page will make members have an epiphany, and come to their senses?. . . .
Click to expand...
No, I think making members work a little when quoting posts gives them a little more time to think about what they're quoting and responding to. That's a good thing. It helps avoid posts that quote great big, honkin' blocks of text, followed with, "+1."
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
"I doubt it. Members have been asking about a quote button for well in excess of five years & we haven't resurrected it yet."

More like 15 years...
 
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Mal H

Staff
I don't understand why you are continuing on and on with the subject, Berserker. You asked for the Quick Reply window at the bottom of the page, and you got it (see post #5). I didn't see any reason why it shouldn't be used. You can get to it quickly using the Quick reply button at the bottom left of any post. (This one:
quickreply.gif
)

One thing we won't resurrect is the "Reply with quote" button. And if the "Quote message in reply?" check box starts getting used when it shouldn't, we can disable that very easily.
 
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