We Need To Talk About The Quoting System

[SBaby 660]

It might increase the amount of subscribers.

 

 

So, do you know who this member is that I just quoted?  This is a real quote that was taken from a topic right in this section of the message board.  It was not posted by me.  So why did I use this quote if I'm not talking about the person that posted it?  Well, because I think it bears relevance to what I'm bringing up here.

 

You might notice a few things that look out of place about the quote.  Namely the fact that, the user's name doesn't show up in it.  I typed it in there.  But it still doesn't show up.

 

So the short version of what I'm getting at is this.  The quoting system used here is extremely awkward.  The only time you can properly quote anyone is if you're posting in a currently existing topic, and if the post is not an edit.  Otherwise, it shows up like this.

 

I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but I am a person that thinks about what he posts, and as such, I edit my posts.  Sometimes I think of ways to respond to multiple quotes, but only after I make the initial part of my post.  But when we go back to edit a post with this system, we can't even quote someone properly without starting a new post.  And copying the quote doesn't work, because we only get the text, and then it just looks like you're the one that posted it.  And if we try to manually type it, then we get the results shown above.  This coupled with the fact that we can't delete posts can be a real problem for topics such as debates, where we might want to add something to a post.

 

This is not a support issue that is only affecting me.  It is site-wide, because it's a system that was implemented for the site.  I admire you guys for wanting to make the site more cutting edge, but this is an issue that has become more and more apparent as of late, especially now that the site is getting bigger.

 

I don't know how else to ask you this.  But, please.  I implore you.  Fix this.

Edited December 22, 2012 by SBaby

[One 498]

Yeah, quote system sucks on this site. It's kinda annoying but I get through it. I'm sure all the mods will say is "send in a support ticket" or something like that though.

[NavelColt 22,881]

Yeah, quote system sucks on this site. It's kinda annoying but I get through it. I'm sure all the mods will say is "send in a support ticket" or something like that though.

This is feedback, which is what this forum was made for. It's not someone with an issue, it's someone with complaints about a feature.

 

I never really found the 'new' quote system to be an 'improvement' over the old one, which seemed to work just fine. Never really had enough qualms about the new one to care to make a discussion about it, I guess.

[One 498]

This is feedback, which is what this forum was made for. It's not someone with an issue, it's someone with complaints about a feature.

 

I never really found the 'new' quote system to be an 'improvement' over the old one, which seemed to work just fine. Never really had enough qualms about the new one to care to make a discussion about it, I guess.

Meh, sure. I'm sure you mean section, not forum though.

[NavelColt 22,881]

Meh, sure. I'm sure you mean section, not forum though.

Both work fine. If I wanted to, I could refer to this entire website as a board, and to each individual 'section' as 'forums' There is no defined name that everyone must use.

[Titan Rising 2,156]

Please put the old quote system back this new one is awkward and takes 10x more effort to work around.  I was gonna make a topic about it but I kept forgetting to

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

I don't have much issue with the quote system as of now, but I did like the last one better.  

[One 498]

Both work fine. If I wanted to, I could refer to this entire website as a board, and to each individual 'section' as 'forums' There is no defined name that everyone must use.

We should set something up though...

 

Forum

Section

Thread

Topic

Post

 

Done.

[Marcato 2,143]

Please put the old quote system back this new one is awkward and takes 10x more effort to work around.  I was gonna make a topic about it but I kept forgetting to

I'm pretty sure the new quote system came with the new version of IP Board/IPS. Basically it wasn't something they intended to do I believe. From what I've heard the new version of IPS caused all sorts of problems and screw ups within the forums. Ultimately the tech admins will take care of things like that. 

 

I personally preferred the old system, but it would take some effort to put it back without downgrading IPS. (Unless I'm horribly mistaken.) Either way, it's something I'm sure they will discuss and consider knowing the staff of this forum.

[Key Gear 6,663]

I'm here, Baby, let's talk.

This is not a support issue that is only affecting me.  It is site-wide, because it's a system that was implemented for the site.  I admire you guys for wanting to make the site more cutting edge, but this is an issue that has become more and more apparent as of late, especially now that the site is getting bigger.

Invision Power Services is the group that created and maintains IP.Board, which is the software that powers this site. Things like the new quoting system are not implemented specifically for this site. Instead, they are rolled out by IPS on all of the sites that are powered by IP.Board.

 

As administrators, we do not actually code up all of the code that powers the site ourselves. In fact, the IP.Board code base is hundreds of thousands of lines of code, so it would be impractical for us to maintain it all ourselves (we only have two Tech Admins). However, we do have the power to customize and to configure. We can add hooks, applications, and other things to this site to add features or change behaviors.

 

When you have a problem with something like quoting, letting us know about it is, indeed, the right thing to do. It is important though, to understand that it is not just the MLP Forums team that is behind these changes. There is a wider world out there that surrounds IP.Board, which is where a lot of this stuff is discussed and debated.

 

I don't know how else to ask you this.  But, please.  I implore you.  Fix this.

I am going to look into fixing or tweaking this behavior, but we are currently staring down a rather impressive list of other things that need to be fixed/tweaked. To put things in perspective, over 200 replies have been made to support tickets in just this month alone. A significant number of those were technical issues that needed to be investigated, documented, and fixed. Quite a few times, fixing something requires us to work with IPS, and that takes more time and more communication.

 

More than likely, we may be able to add some type of customization on our end that can make this less painful. However, I can not make any promises regarding a timeline, and I hope that you understand and sympathize with this.

 

 

Also, I had to find this and get the proper reference (OCD in action):

 

It might increase the amount of subscribers.

 

 

With all of that said... I think that the missing attributes when you edit a post or toggle the BBCode editor is a bug. That is inconsistant behavior, and I do not think that IPS intended for it to work like that. If they will look into it, then a fix may come sooner rather than later.

 

I apologize for any inconvenience in the meantime. Trust me, we are doing our best over here, but it is not possible for us to keep up with every site bug or unexpected behavior without some help from members. (So, thank you for making this thread.) Keep in mind though, that this is actually why tickets are so useful. They make it easier for us to see issues at a glance.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Scootacool
Wut, it is a bug!

[SBaby 660]

I understand that it could just be IP Board.  It's just that this wasn't always an issue before, and this site has undergone many changes since I first joined here (most for the better).  So I figured it would be best to just post it here and see if something could be done about it.

 

And there's no rush on anything.  I just wanted to get this out there.

Edited December 23, 2012 by SBaby

[Abstract 832]

Yeah... I don't know if it's really feasible to get anything done about it, but I've also been missing the old quoting system. I'm probably just an idiot, but I cannot seem to figure out how to break a quote of one entire post into multiple quote sections. I use this method of quoting quite often, and it is a big annoyance to myself, and (I would hope, anyway ) others.

 

And again, I may just be completely lost in this new system, but I've never been one to use a quick little "Quote" button; I prefer to copy and paste the text myself, also putting in the BBcode manually. It does not appear that the new system allows for this.

 

If anyone could prove me wrong on either of this qualms however, it would be much appreciated.

[Shift 4,272]

I'll admit the quoting system sucks. But Scootacool  has a lot of things on his mind and quoting isn't that big of a deal. I think. It's your opinion.

 

But, yeah, i'd be nice to see this be worked out soon.

[Doctor-Whooves 288]

I agree with Shift. It does suck, not a super-big deal, but it would be nice if it was improved in the future.