Posting Links or the whole article

[ollster]

Mod: moderation discussion split from here and retitled

Wayno - a suggestion... posting the entire article verbatim, as a massive unformatted wall of text, is annoying and unnecessary. It would be better to post just the link, maybe some key discussion points from the article, and your opinion on the matter. And please format them so they are readable.

In short, wall-of-text sucks.

[corvus]

wayno,
I personally had no problem reading your full post and ollster clicking on the link would have achieved the same result would it not ? but then again you are the IT expert
corvus

[ollster]

and ollster clicking on the link would have achieved the same result would it not ? but then again you are the IT expert

I believe that was my point. It's zero to do with IT, just sensible posting.

[corvus]

What just the link is not an IT thing
corvus

[doogs]

and ollster clicking on the link would have achieved the same result would it not ? but then again you are the IT expert

I believe that was my point. It's zero to do with IT, just sensible posting.

IT? I always thought you were a High Tea expert

[ollster]

What just the link is not an IT thing
corvus

OH BOY, YOU GOT ME MAN! YOU GOT ME GOOD!

[corvus]

ollister,
Would prefer to think we agree to disagree and think we should as Tasmanians (born or imports) be united
in extolling this Paradise we live in rather than sniping each other
(BIG GROUP HUG NOW )
corvus.

[walkinTas]

Mod: here are suggested ways to quote and article in your post.

Quote the article.

Code:

[quote="[url=http://www.odt.co.nz/regions/north-otago/208996/smallest-detail-vital-search]Otago Daily News Article[/url]"] POST ARTICLE HERE [/quote]

Result is: ....

Technology and hard clues are used in a major search for a missing person, North Otago reporter Andrew Ashton discovered this week in the Ahuriri Valley.

"No stone unturned, no clue too small" is the motto driving the search for Dunedin man David Palmer, missing in the remote Dingle Burn area of inland Otago for almost a week.

An array of computers communicating via satellite; flip charts listing a host of clues; a character profile of Mr Palmer; and a boot imprint lifted from his abandoned car crowding out the control room walls at the search and rescue operation centre could be termed "high-tech". ....

etc, etc..."

- andrew.ashton@odt.co.nz

Then discuss the article here.

Notice the way I did the [ Quote ]. [ Quote = "[ url = Link ] Otago Daily News Article [ /url ] "] - The URL is between the two quotation marks ("").

So [ quote = " URL "] the article goes here [ / quote ] - without the spaces. This achieves the same thing as wayno's ( http://www.odt.co.nz/regions/north-otago/208996/smallest-detail-vital-search ), but the link is in the QUOTE markup. Obviously you don't have to put the URL in the QUOTE if you don't wish too.

This works just as well.
http://www.odt.co.nz/regions/north-otago/208996/smallest-detail-vital-search

Technology and hard clues are used in a major search for a missing person, North Otago reporter Andrew Ashton discovered this week in the Ahuriri Valley.
etc, etc..."

- andrew.ashton@odt.co.nz

Sometimes posting the whole article is good, sometimes it is better to quote a section of the article and leave it to the reader to follow up. IMO, some of the article should be quoted along with "some key discussion points from the article" as Ollster suggests. Enough to let members know the gist of the article/topic your are referring to. Just posting a link is not the best option - in fact, the mod team frown on posts that are nothing more than a link to another site.

Keeping the original format of the article should be just a matter of copy-and-paste. In the example above, I copied-and-pasted the extract into the post between list markup. e.g. [ LIST ] EXTRACT [/ LIST] That just "indents" the article.

@Ollster, @Corvus. Thanks for your help with this. Help with moderation is appreciated, but remember, using the Report Feature is still the quickest and best way to get things fixed up.

Hope this helps.

[Son of a Beach]

Just to throw in my 2¢...

I agree with Ollster. If the article is any more than a few sentences, posting the entire thing verbatim is a bit of a 'wall-of-text' issue that's not necessary when a link to the original article will make the entire thing accessible in its original format anyhow.

I also agree with others that ONLY a link to the article is not enough (and indeed is against forum rules). When linking to another site, the post needs to include some other information - either a quote from the article or a summary of it or some discussion point(s) about it. The general rule of thumb, is that the post should include enough information about the linked-to page so that other readers should be able to make up their minds if it's something they want to read or not, without having to click on the link and view that page first.

Ideally, any quotes should be enclosed in [quote] [/quote] tags, but I understand that some people find BBCode a bit difficult.

[ollster]

Sorry WiT, I still feel like a dirty snitch when I use the report tool... I didn't suggest that ONLY a link would be appropriate, but some sort of opinion or questions posed is usually an expectation. As an example on Whirlpool if an article is posted in the "In the news" section without any personal opinion or a specific perspective it is considered valueless and the mods often delete it.

I wasn't meaning to start a fight, but apparently some people can't resist. It must be my bowl full of sausages.

[walkinTas]

Sorry WiT, I still feel like a dirty snitch when I use the report tool...

There is absolutely no need to feel like a snitch. All you are doing is pointing to something that you would fix if you had the authority to do so. As explained up here, reports are better, because the mods, who have the required authority, will fix it (presuming it needs fixing). Reports are not only better, they are a lot less work.

[walkinTas]

Ideally, any quotes should be enclosed in tags, but I understand that some people find BBCode a bit difficult.

Yes, it's not everyone's cup of tea.

The simplest version of a quote would be

1) click the quote button. That will add the "quote" "/quote" markup to your edit window. e.g. [ quote ][/ quote ]
2) Right-click between the two markup --> [ quote ] right-click here [/ quote]
3) Choose "Paste" to paste your extract from the article. Then edit (delete) the unwanted bits if you wish.

Adding the link details in any way you can manage will allow others to read the whole article.

[taswegian]

I genarally use 'Adding the link details in any way you can manage will allow others to read the whole article.' as a Quote as opposed to

Adding the link details in any way you can manage will allow others to read the whole article.

for the reason it takes up so much space or most often does.
I don't really have an option on 'walls of text' bizzo but often find reading heaps of quotes as in

he said that

tedious.
My 2 bobs worth.

[walkinTas]

Yes, reading quotes can be "tedious", but you don't have to read the quote - that is the whole point of quoting. Quoting gives the reader a clear option to read just the message, or to also read the quote. It's up to the reader. One knows what is the message and what is quoted text from previous messages or other sources. If the detail, or the background, is required, then read the quote.

Mixing the quotes into the text reduces that option, even if italics are used, because it make it much harder for the reader to distinguish the quoted text from normal comments and opinions where emphasis is implied through italics (as done here). So, my 2 bobs worth , quoting is preferable when including large blocks of text authored by another person.

This also raises another related point. Some folk quote the whole post of another member before responding to it. Sometimes this extends to quoting the post in full, even when it is the post just above their response. I think sometimes we over quote. I think it is rare that one needs to quote in full a previous posts in the same topic. IMO a poster only needs to quote when s/he wishes to refer to a specific point in a previous post. Still, if it is quoted correctly, the reader has the option to not read the quote. And its not like there are any rules for this, so this is all just food for thought.