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you're gonna love my blockquotes
February 5, 2009 1:12 PM   RSS feed for this thread Subscribe

I would like a small formatting pony.

The blockquote tag is boring. Stop having a boring blockquote tag. Could there be a line on the left side or other indicator for blockquoting?
posted by boo_radley to feature requests at 1:12 PM (67 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite

Advertise here: Contact FM.


,___o <I am the small pony which you desire
^ ^
posted by not_on_display at 1:22 PM on February 5 [3 favorites]


Back in a day I had trained a tiny pony to dance on my 5 1/4" floppy disks in such a way that they were perfectly formatted for MS-DOS systems. Its glue, now.
But, yeah, I kinda see what you mean.

posted by cimbrog at 1:28 PM on February 5 [1 favorite]


Better than a line on the left (which an existing Greasemonkey script uses to indicate original poster follow-up comment in AskMe) would be a blockquote that had a lighter background.
posted by pineapple at 1:31 PM on February 5


I think such a line would look best against a professional white background.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:32 PM on February 5 [1 favorite]


Are you talking about something like the bar that indicates the original posters comments in AskMe? That seems like it might potentially be a bit confusing.

While we're talking about formatting, could we start stripping line breaks from the front page text? They are confusing and not really necessary IMO.
posted by tomcooke at 1:35 PM on February 5


Blockquote is also, unless I'm mistaken, still totally space-wonky.
(But I don't think we're supposed to talk about that.)
Someone might be able to Greasemonkey something in for you, but to be honest I don't really understand the problem. I have no trouble distinguishing blockquotes from other text, since the blockquote is, like, blockquoted.

But that doesn't mean we can't have signatures and 200px avatars, right? Right?
posted by Sys Rq at 1:36 PM on February 5


Better than a line on the left (which an existing Greasemonkey script uses to indicate original poster follow-up comment in AskMe)

That's built into ask now, no need for greasemonkey.
posted by inigo2 at 1:36 PM on February 5


It needs a fedora.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:36 PM on February 5


We already use a left-side border line to indicate when a poster to a thread posts in their own thread (on Ask MeFi) so we couldn't do that without confusing people.
posted by mathowie at 1:39 PM on February 5


A line! That'll add some excitement!
posted by box at 1:41 PM on February 5


pony
posted by Pronoiac at 1:44 PM on February 5 [1 favorite]


I think it's fine, but Sys Rq is right. We need to talk about the crap vertical spacing that blockquote gives us. It's adding like 2 lines of whitespace when it only needs a half-line 6pt clearance above and below. The css needs a little lovin'.
posted by cowbellemoo at 1:44 PM on February 5


Let my hijack this thread for a moment to request clarification on the whole fedora thing. I must have missed where that originated. Hope me?
posted by Navelgazer at 1:46 PM on February 5


1) How about a quote graphic, like, uh, Lifehacker, I think?
2) Fedoras are for nerds. You're not Gene Kelly.
3) Blockquote spacing is better if you don't put carriage returns between the lines: foo<blockquote>pop</blockquote>bar. It's still not awesome, but it's better.
posted by boo_radley at 1:53 PM on February 5 [1 favorite]


Blockquote spacing is better if you don't put carriage returns between the lines: foo<blockquote>pop</blockquote>bar.

I've been telling people that for years, but they get mad and go WE DON'T WANT TO DO THAT SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP, so I've given up.
posted by languagehat at 1:56 PM on February 5


Whoa, there's no fedora mention on the wiki.

There was a self-described awesome hunk of manflesh who mentioned that he wore a fedora. No one else took that seriously. Since, it's like an accessory that the wearer thinks says "sex bomb," but in fact looks like clown makeup.
posted by Pronoiac at 2:01 PM on February 5 [2 favorites]


I had a formatting pony when I was a kid. Her name was Patches.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 2:03 PM on February 5


If you know a little CSS and use Firefox you could look into using the userContent.css file or using an extension like Stylish. That way you could format blockquote on MetaFilter however you'd like.
posted by pb at 2:10 PM on February 5


,___o
^ ^

I'm sorry, but that looks more like a very unfortunate frog that has had its eye gouged out.

Poor frog :-(
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:18 PM on February 5 [2 favorites]


Yeah the blockquote is suppose to be written inline like boo_radley described, it automatically adds space. Yeah, it's kind kinda counter-intuitive.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:21 PM on February 5


"Fedoras are for nerds"? Is that what passes for an insult around here these days?
posted by Caduceus at 2:33 PM on February 5


Your mother uses IE 5.5
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:35 PM on February 5 [2 favorites]


I'm (just personally, mind you) vehemently opposed to dressing up the blockquote.

Margins pretty clearly declare "this is a blockquote", and everything else is just silliness—worse yet, silliness that would collide with the few bits of styling we use for other semantic purposes already (shading for best answers, left border for original-asker delineation).
posted by cortex at 2:36 PM on February 5


While we're talking about formatting, could we start stripping line breaks from the front page text? They are confusing and not really necessary IMO.

We already don't auto-interpolate <br> from line breaks in above-the-fold post text; when you see linebreaks, it's from someone actually manually inserting the tags themselves, and while I think that's not always a great idea and don't want to see a whole lot of it, we sort of deal with it on a case-by-case basis and reformat things a bit when necessary.
posted by cortex at 2:40 PM on February 5 


         (\(\_
     _.o o`\\\\
    ("_     ))))
     '---'  ((((          .=,
         )   )))___.-""-./=;\\\
        /    (((         \  ))))
       ; formatting       | |//
       /\          |      | ((
      (  \    /__.-'\    /   )
     / /` |  /    \  \  |
    / /   \ ;      \ (\ (
    \\_    ||       || ||
     \_]   ||       || ||
    jgs   /_<      /_</_<          
(testing, skipping removing newlines, step 3. this looks fine in preview.)
posted by Pronoiac at 2:45 PM on February 5 [10 favorites]


While we're talking about formatting, could we start stripping line breaks from the front page text? They are confusing and not really necessary IMO.

Noooooooooooo, Smedleyman will come after you.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:47 PM on February 5


CSS 'curly' quote style blockquotes with extra cheese.

Flashy, but what if the commenter already wrapped the text in quotes?

Blockquote needs boxhab.

I vote no.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:59 PM on February 5


Sys Rq said:
Blockquote is also, unless I'm mistaken, still totally space-wonky.
That seems to be fixed now, due to a line in the CSS, but the live preview doesn't reflect it.
posted by smackfu at 3:00 PM on February 5


General in charge of Iraq says "It's the oil", suggests permanent bases.

Ohhhhh...block quotes.
posted by yeti at 3:08 PM on February 5


Fair enough cortex, thanks for the response.
posted by tomcooke at 4:00 PM on February 5


Well cortex may have more pull than me but I like the idea. I'm sure someone could come up with something that looks good for blockquotes.
posted by GuyZero at 4:23 PM on February 5


"Fedoras are for nerds"? Is that what passes for an insult around here these days?

Oh, but they totally are. And glad that you're a nerd, because the only two kinds of people I've known who wear fedoras are nerds and assholes. So you can either be a nerd, or you can be a total waste of space dick like certain fedora-wearing assholes. All my nerd friends wear fedoras, though, and I actually think it's kinda cute. Kinda.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 4:47 PM on February 5


Nerd and asshole are not always mutually exclusive.
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:55 PM on February 5 [1 favorite]


We should have a CSS contest. See what kind of spiffier thread layout we can get. Deal with all the stuff that wasn't dealt with the last go-around.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:13 PM on February 5


It'd be kind of neat to have a click tool next to the [B I link] that would pop a dialog box in which you pasted a comment URL and then a blockquote is inserted with the text of the quote prefaced by User [username] said:
posted by BrotherCaine at 5:21 PM on February 5


Wouldn't that just repeat the entire comment, even if it's 5000 words long?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:14 PM on February 5


Yeah, if the user failed to edit it. I'm sure that happens on occasion anyway. There could be a confirmation popup if there's excessively long block quotes when the comment posts. That might be useful in general, I see a lot of very long cut and pasting from articles where a link would have been the best choice.
posted by BrotherCaine at 6:40 PM on February 5


I've had some private back-and-forth about my earlier comment. We've reached consensus, and the list has been expanded:

If you're wearing a fedora, you're one of the following:
  1. a nerd
  2. Gene Kelly
  3. A pimp
  4. Indiana Jones

posted by boo_radley at 7:32 PM on February 5


BrotherCaine: "It'd be kind of neat to have a click tool next to the [B I link] that would pop a dialog box in which you pasted a comment URL and then a blockquote is inserted with the text of the quote prefaced by User [username] said:"

MefiQuote.
posted by team lowkey at 7:57 PM on February 5 [2 favorites]


S'up playa.

I got some fine ass quad cores here, just waitin' fo ya, 900mhz buses, got a lot in da trunk, nowhati'msayin?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:58 PM on February 5


Aw yeah, you in the goodie room now playa!

You paying attention? I'm talking... Ubuntu, boo_radley! That's how you can roll. No more bitchass Vista for my boy! Oh yeah! Big video card playa! Frame rates past ya knees!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:08 PM on February 5


Please to request a feature: Auto-replacement of "fine ass quad cores" whenever "pony" is typed in a MeTa post.
posted by found missing at 8:38 PM on February 5 [1 favorite]


So I'm guessing "no", then?
posted by boo_radley at 9:05 PM on February 5


found missing: Here's a quick greasemonkey for ya.
posted by niles at 9:54 PM on February 5 [2 favorites]


This pony, it is not really a pony.
         __
   __   (__`\
  (__`\   \\`\
   `\\`\   \\ \
     `\\`\  \\ \
       `\\`\#\\ \#
         \_ ##\_ |##
         (___)(___)##
          (0)  (0)`\##
           |~   ~ , \##
           |      |  \## 
           |     /\   \##         __..---'''''-.._.._
           |     | \   `\##  _.--'                _  `.
           Y     |  \    `##'                     \`\  \
          /      |   \                             | `\ \
         /_...___|    \                            |   `\\
        /        `.    |                          /      ##
       |          |    |                         /      ####
       |          |    |                        /       ####
       | () ()    |     \     |          |  _.-'         ##
       `.        .'      `._. |______..| |-'|         
         `------'           | | | |    | || |
                            | | | |    | || |
                            | | | |    | || |
                            | | | |    | || |
                      _____ | | | |____| || |
                     /     `` |-`/     ` |` |
                     \________\__\_______\__\
                      """""""""   """""""'"""

posted by killdevil at 10:00 PM on February 5


Niles, it doesn't seem to do anything.
posted by ocherdraco at 10:03 PM on February 5


Oh, wait. I get it now. Misunderstood the purpose of the script. Does it affect fine ass quad cores, too?
posted by ocherdraco at 10:04 PM on February 5


Wow. The script changed the actual text of my response on preview, so it still says "fine ass quad cores" even though I typed "ponies" to see if niles thought of the plural. Weird.

Sorry, for the triple post. I am slow on the uptake sometimes.
posted by ocherdraco at 10:08 PM on February 5


Christ, what an asshole
posted by 0xFCAF at 10:32 PM on February 5


No more magic linebreaks and text shaded a little ("posted by"-gray perhaps), dere's my vote.
posted by fleacircus at 1:53 AM on February 6


Blockquotes fine.
Not broke - don't fix.

posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:22 AM on February 6


When I write a <blockquote>d bit of HTML I usually put the tags on a line by themselves, so the source is easier to read,
like this.
The comment autoformat thingy turns those four extra linebreaks into <br>s. This doesn't happen if there aren't any newlines around the <blockquote> tags,
like this.
But that mixes the quoted text and any unquoted reply in the input box, where I'm typing, and I get confused trying to do that. <ol> and <ul> tags on lines by themselves do the same thing.

Or used to, and still do in the live preview. But not in the other (dead?) preview.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 6:48 AM on February 6


And not when you post, either. Apparently that bug got fixed. Beers all around.

Anyway: please keep blockquote "boring," rather than replacing it with <uglybox>.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 6:54 AM on February 6


Alright, let's wrap this up then. I'm ashamed to be associated with so many ascii art horses.
posted by boo_radley at 7:05 AM on February 6 [1 favorite]


for clarity, I actually wrote
When I write a &lt;blockquote&gt;d bit of HTML I usually put the tags on a line by themselves, so the source is easier to read,
<blockquote>
like this.
</blockquote>
The comment autoformat thingy turns those four extra linebreaks into &lt;br&gt;s. This doesn39;t happen if there aren39;t any newlines around the &lt;blockquote&gt; tags, <blockquote> like this. </blockquote> But that mixes the quoted text and any unquoted reply in the input box, where I39;m typing, and I get confused trying to do that. &lt;ol&gt; and &lt;ul&gt; tags on lines by themselves do the same thing.
THE DEFINITIVE "HOW TO BLOCKQUOTE" 2009. jeez, i feel silly
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 7:05 AM on February 6


If you're wearing a fedora, you're one of the following:
    5.) Jake Blues
    6.) Elwood Blues
    7.) Humphrey Bogart

posted by quin at 7:31 AM on February 6


8.) Eliot Ness
9.) Captain Kirk
10.) Sam Spade
11.) Another friend of Bill W.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:59 AM on February 6


Who leaves a country packed with fine ass quad cores to come to a non-fine ass quad core country? It doesn't make sense.. am I wrong?
posted by found missing at 9:10 AM on February 6 [1 favorite]


12.) Press with press pass stuck in hatband.
posted by BrotherCaine at 12:44 PM on February 6


13.) Jean-Luc Picard
posted by not_on_display at 12:52 PM on February 6


Oh, cool. In the latest podcast, it was mentioned that pb had done a big blockquote fix, site-wide. I noticed this when I did a small formatting pony above, which, by the way, was hurt by what boo_radley said. But anyway.
"There's a lengthy quote here:
<blockquote>
Lengthy quote
</blockquote>
Further quote discussion."
In live preview, there's extra whitespace. Hit preview, & it disappears!

"There's a lengthy quote here:
Lengthy quote
Further quote discussion."

As a warning & a note to pb, this is sensitive to spaces after the blockquote & /blockquote tags.
posted by Pronoiac at 2:07 PM on February 6


I was half-expecting that to break, then hear, "oh yeah, preview & posting behave differently when insert jargon here..."
posted by Pronoiac at 2:10 PM on February 6


You people are making a mockery of the fedora list vetting process.
posted by boo_radley at 2:18 PM on February 6


boo_radley, sir, WHY DO YOU HATE PONIES?
posted by Pronoiac at 2:24 PM on February 6


14.) a Dick
14a.) Dick Tracy
14b.) Dick Cheney
14c.) Jack Abramoff
posted by Sys Rq at 5:33 PM on February 6


team lowkey: "BrotherCaine: "It'd be kind of neat to have a click tool next to the [B I link] that would pop a dialog box in which you pasted a comment URL and then a blockquote is inserted with the text of the quote prefaced by User [username] said:"

MefiQuote."

Sweet. Any way to stop this script from jumping down to the input box when you click on the quote link?
posted by Mitheral at 6:03 PM on February 6


I don't know. Ask Plutor.
posted by team lowkey at 6:05 PM on February 6


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