POLL NOW CLOSED. Would you like to have the option to Quote posts on Talk threads (like MNHQ can)? Please come and cast your vote

[HelenMumsnet]

Hello.

We've had a few people asking us to extend to everyone MNHQ's Quote function (you know, the thingie where we can quote another person's post in our posts).

But we have also clocked a fair few folk who would rather Talk stayed as it is and didn't have a Quote function on threads.

So we have opened up a little poll to find out what the true picture is.

So what do you think? To quote or not to quote?

Do please feel free to discuss the issue with other Mumsnetters here on this thread, and please do vote and help us decide. (We'll leave this up for a good few days to make sure everyone gets a chance to contribute their tuppence ha'penny.)

NB: as it involves a bit of Tech work, we won't roll out the Quote option unless there is a clear majority in favour of it and, if there were, we would most likely test it in a specific topic (such a Chat) before putting it everywhere - just to check it wouldn't cause havoc.

Thanks v much, MNHQ

wuv u UMS

Cauldrons
Is that a Hallowe'en name...6 weeks in advance?

BAN HER MNHQ

@ Mumsnetters voting loudly against change. Change is BAD. It weren't like this in my day

And NO to a 'like' button. It spells the end of conversation.

I would like to be able to + or - people though.

IF there were to be a quote function (andI think MN is fine wthout) it would be handy to be able to link your own post to the post you are referringto. e.g. 'I agree with postername' where the poster's name links tothe post you're talking about. rather than adding the quote to your own post thi might help direct people to the specific post

that said, C&P is fine

LG when I first started using MN i'm sure I was against hiding posters, but now I am increasingly coming roud to the idea - wuld definitely like a trial ofthat

No no no no
and several more no's. For all the reasons others have mentioned. It would be truely horrible.

Oh, and I can't get onto the voting page, so please add another 'no' vote to your final results.

A 'no' from me too. I agree with others who have said Mn looks clean and uncluttered, quotes would ruin that.

No. No. A thousand times no. On some forums you need to scroll down a page to get to a one-word post. I HATE that.

Yes, NetworkGuy - I agree. If the quote function means having to quote the entire post in all its four paragraphs it does indeed become meaningless and clunky, and just clutters the page.

No I wouldn't want a quote facility, I think we get along just fine without it would just be like netmums clutter up the place.

While we're on the talk of 'hide' posters, - I would love it if we could have a note facility where you can see your note when you hover over a nickname - it would save me updating my shitlist spreadsheet all the time.

Quotes seems to encourage lazy posting, who wants to read paragraphs and paragraphs of quotes only to get "I agree" or (even worse) ":)" at the end of them?!

Done! I hate quote functions, especially when people use it to rip apart posts they disagree with.

I would love to have a poll on a 'hide poster' option though, is that a possibility?

Oh God no. This is the exact reason I use MN and not other fora. I would leave. And nobody would miss me, but still!

allhailtheaubergine wrote "NO to a 'like' button. It spells the end of conversation."

That argument can be shot down in flames. There's plenty of 'conversation' going on in parallel with the simple ability to show a positive or negative view about a particular post.

Several of the comments are against quoting whole posts (I agree - "trimming" to the essentials is an important part of quoting anything) but in part (eg something like: hate to see whole post quoted followed by "Well said") there are people quoting because they cannot simply 'like' a post (which would keep the thread a discussion, not a bunch of back slapping contributions with excessive repeats of some popular view from an earlier poster)

"I would like to be able to + or - people though."

I assume the '-' is to hide. Some sites 'hide' posts if they get too many negative responses (they can still be viewed, but it means junk/ spam can be 'automatically' hidden from view).

Not sure what your '+' would do... always show the post even if they had lots of negative votes? (Of course, that assumes that 'voting' would be part of the scheme too :) )

Thanks FellatioNelson - think MNHQ needs to clarify whether they can trim what they quote.

If there's no way to trim down what is quoted, then it needs a rethink!!

Yes you'd be able to trim.

People never do though- if they are too lazy to cut and paste, they won't trim either. You'll just get pages of boxes within boxes and stupid smiley faces at the end. Like everywhere else on the internet.