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FR Posting Style Book - format for replying (We seem to be slipping)
Me, Myself and BJungNan | April 9, 2005 | BJungNan

Posted on 04/09/2005 11:51:09 AM PDT by BJungNan

Lately there seems to be some slippage of what has been for years the common style for replying to posts. In the interest of FR Stylebook maintenance, here is what has been proper style on replying to comments in a thread.

The common form for replies is as follows:

1. Quote the person you are replying to with italics (if you are replying to someone specifically and what they said).
2. Seperate with a paragraph mark.
3. Show your reply in regular text

Example:
Even after five years (or so) of reading FR, I still find myself amazed at the quality of discussion and the wealth of information, especially posts from the many experts that are members of FR. Who would have thought we would have experts in typefonts of all things (to Dan Rather's chagrin).

You sure have that right BJungNan. Jim and FR are the greatest!

---

Placing the comments of the person you are replying to in quote marks or in Bold may get the job done, but really it is not common style. At least not to my FR eyes. Those using quotes perhaps don't know html but it is really easy. FR is where many people learned html. Somewhere on here is an html sandbox (perhaps someone can offer up that link).



TOPICS: Free Republic; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: biggapingpiehole; busybody; faq; fontpolice; frstyle; htmlgestapo; htmlsandbox; missmaners; newbie; stylebook
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To: BJungNan
Dang, that tip made this whole thread worth it!

I'm flattered. Thank you for starting this thread.

301 posted on 04/10/2005 8:37:08 AM PDT by ConservativeLawyer ("Be not afraid" - John Paul the Great)
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To: baseballmom
I learn something new everyday. Thanks

You're quite welcome, baseballmom.

302 posted on 04/10/2005 8:40:33 AM PDT by ConservativeLawyer ("Be not afraid" - John Paul the Great)
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To: thoughtomator
But isn't this much more aesthetically pleasing?

Is what is more aesthetically pleasing? Did you post something else? Something in a color other than black on white? I'm color blind. I can only see your one sentence above.    =;^)

303 posted on 04/10/2005 8:44:35 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk)
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To: mowkeka
You need to put markup tags on either side of the text that is to be italicized. For example, you'd type this:

<I>This text is to be italicized</I>

And you'd see this in the post:

This text is to be italicized

Using preview can be very useful in making sure you got the tags right.

304 posted on 04/10/2005 10:27:33 AM PDT by thoughtomator ("The Passion of the Opus" - 2 hours of a FReeper being crucified on his own self-pitying thread)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

Yeah I was being playful and posted some stuff in bright green, nothing of any importance.


305 posted on 04/10/2005 10:28:59 AM PDT by thoughtomator ("The Passion of the Opus" - 2 hours of a FReeper being crucified on his own self-pitying thread)
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To: thoughtomator
nothing of any importance.

Just joshin' ya. I saw it the first time. But I thought, "What if somebody can't see the color green."

Just me being a wise-arse. Again.

306 posted on 04/10/2005 11:42:08 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk)
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To: Alamo-Girl

"I'm a lazy typist. DIR only takes three keystrokes. LOLOL!"

So am I a lazy typist.

But I didn't know of the DIR tag until I saw you use it.

From now on I'm divorcing with "blockquote" and going in a new DIRection. LOL!


307 posted on 04/10/2005 9:45:38 PM PDT by mjtobias (Our love for Terri was immense; her parents' love was infinite; God's love is everlasting.)
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To: mjtobias

LOLOLOL! Thank you so much for the chuckle! I'm glad the lazy typing tip was helpful.


308 posted on 04/10/2005 10:15:42 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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To: BJungNan
I've been here since almost day one; and I am the one who started consistently italicizing because it made sense.

I also point out egregious spelling errors and still manage to sprout an extra thumb or two from time to time.

My recent bitch is people who can't make sense no matter what the form.

Never mind, I am just old and grumpy.

309 posted on 04/10/2005 10:21:54 PM PDT by Old Professer (As darkness is the absence of light, evil is the absence of good; innocence is blind.)
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To: Old Professer

It is certainly an honor to have crossed your path here on FR. I thought I had been posting a long time but you have my by at least a couple of years.

And thanks for your contribution to the format. Hope it won't be an uphill battle to keep your early formatting vision alive.

FReep Regards!
BJN


310 posted on 04/10/2005 10:52:41 PM PDT by BJungNan (gogov.com - Make it your home page. I did!)
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To: Donald Rumsfeld Fan
1. Quote the person you are replying to with italics (if you are replying to someone specifically and what they said).
2. Seperate with a paragraph mark.
3. Show your reply in regular text

Do you mean like this?

IP

No; like this. Don't you know anything about Printer's marks? "IP" is about as close to a 'pargraph mark' as I can get with a standard keyboard.

What you used was a 'paragraph tag'.

311 posted on 04/12/2005 12:32:28 PM PDT by ApplegateRanch (The world needs more horses, and fewer Jackasses!)
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To: mowkeka
Is there some way to put in italics, without entering Word?

A question I have always wanted to ask, but dare not. I actually fumbled around trying to put the instruction in front of the posters entry. It did not take. Now I have a new toy besides my too frequent use of bold . Thanks helping an old cowardy cat. LOL

312 posted on 04/12/2005 9:06:51 PM PDT by Peter Libra
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To: thoughtomator
But isn't this much more aesthetically pleasing?

I hate you.:)
313 posted on 04/14/2005 12:46:07 PM PDT by WinOne4TheGipper (What're you looking at?)
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To: Dog Gone

Are you quoting from the CGEB Posting Style Book?


314 posted on 04/14/2005 12:53:27 PM PDT by avg_freeper (Gunga galunga. Gunga, gunga galunga)
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To: WinOne4TheGipper
Fnord!
315 posted on 04/14/2005 1:37:51 PM PDT by thoughtomator ("The Passion of the Opus" - 2 hours of a FReeper being crucified on his own self-pitying thread)
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To: thoughtomator

LOL!


316 posted on 04/14/2005 1:38:38 PM PDT by WinOne4TheGipper (What're you looking at?)
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To: ElPatriota
Ok one BIG question. I do I learn how to post my own what (I don't even know what the name is) Vanity adds? and I mean the proper way. If I see something on the Washington Post and I want to bring into FR, with a link and the whole nine yards, WHERE are the instructions to do that?

Um, a vanity is -- well, this thread is a vanity. Overall, they're discouraged.

If you want to post an article, click on "post" in the upper-right hand corner of the lastest posts screen. Keep the article open in its own window. Fill in all the blanks. You'll get a message if you do something really wrong, and it won't let you go on.

Since you mention the WP, remember that the WP (and numerous other sources, listed here as of 4/04) will sue if we post entire articles, so you can just post an excerpt with a link.

317 posted on 04/14/2005 1:53:29 PM PDT by maryz
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To: avg_freeper

Yes, only "she" used a font macro to make "her" posts really beautiful, LOL.


318 posted on 04/14/2005 2:37:12 PM PDT by Dog Gone
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To: Donald Rumsfeld Fan

Hey, Check out my tag line. You should be using it.


319 posted on 04/17/2005 8:27:52 PM PDT by BJungNan (Rumsfeld - "We don't have an exit strategy, we have a victory strategy")
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To: Rightly Biased

We need to bump this thread or try something else to get the style back in FR. I've seen people now using this methond:

Joe Smith Said: "(What ever joe said)."

Then their reply to what Joe Smith said.


320 posted on 04/17/2005 8:31:42 PM PDT by BJungNan (Rumsfeld - "We don't have an exit strategy, we have a victory strategy")
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