Quote from: Alaska Slim on August 29, 2014, 05:29:45 AM
Then can you point me to the thread or anywhere else where they're listed? I can't seem to find them.

And yet you found my one-liner, while pumping out reams of unbelievably dense-packed text, which got ignored by everyone. You've been warned not to do it. Told not to do "block text" posts. Cajoled to follow the rules.

Find where this wasn't true until we finally started putting dents in your thick and empty skull.

Quote from: quiller on August 29, 2014, 06:56:00 AM
And yet you found my one-liner, while pumping out reams of unbelievably dense-packed text, which got ignored by everyone.

Are you confusing me with Aristophanes?

Quote from: Alaska Slim on August 29, 2014, 07:42:06 AM
Are you confusing me with Aristophanes?

So you deny you weren't told by multiple people to use the quote function, yet pulled the troll's trick expecting us to let you continue, because that's how you did something elsewhere?

Quote from: Alaska Slim on August 29, 2014, 03:37:02 AM
It's a rule there so as to keep posts streamlined and from wasting space.

It's for the same reason they discourage "omnislashing", or post-battles where each person is breaking up the other's post into a list of portions to respond to that just grows and grows.

After going there for 7 years, it's ingrained habit for me to decide when and when not to use quoting. I meant no offense.

Here we value continuity and relevance, so the quote function is very important, though not 100% mandatory or necessary. So many posts are replies to, or continuations of, previous posts, and the quote function allows everyone to see the flow of thought. Also, it's handy when a topic is especially hot, and others are posting in front of you while you're typing your own post; you may be composing a response to post #1 but by the time you hit the "Post" button, yours is #5. If you didn't use the quote function, it's gonna be tough for the rest of us to figure out what you're talking about.

I've never heard it called 'omnislashing' here, but I know what you're talking about, and have engaged in it myself once or twice.  Here I've heard it called 'parsing.' There's no rule against it that I know of, but I can say there's a pattern with regard to the practice -- quite often, one of the participants is a belligerent newbie (generally a militant liberal/progressive) who will soon be shown the exit. While there's not a 100% rule against it -- heck, just about all the mods and admins on the board have done it at one time or another -- it's usually a sign of someone yearning to be free, if you follow me.

Quote from: quiller on August 29, 2014, 10:32:23 AM
So you deny you weren't told by multiple people to use the quote function

Correct, The Boo Man... on this thread was the first to both question, and allude at all to me that this was a rule.

Here are a few times I used the ^ method, and no one called me on it as far as I see:

http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/the-pit/would-you-vote-for-romney-if-he-was-the-nominee/msg203083/#msg203083

http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/political-discussion-and-debate/isis-uncovers-saddam%27s-wmd%27s-in-iraq!!/msg203039/#msg203039

http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/political-discussion-and-debate/isis-uncovers-saddam%27s-wmd%27s-in-iraq!!/msg203026/#msg203026

http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/political-discussion-and-debate/grant-illegal-aliens-amnesty-or-they-will-become-terrorists/msg202759/#msg202759


Btw, I could still use a link to the list of rules if you have one.

I think this following needs some reinforcement here. Not all of us are on broadband or even DSL. Dial-up users require extra time to do ANYTHING, and often are speedy at their end but slow at the delivery end, winding up #5 as you say. This may be the Internet but still and all, we are not all equal technologically. Do use QUOTE and save endless confusion.

Quote from: TboneAgain on August 29, 2014, 12:48:54 PM
Also, it's handy when a topic is especially hot, and others are posting in front of you while you're typing your own post; you may be composing a response to post #1 but by the time you hit the "Post" button, yours is #5. If you didn't use the quote function, it's gonna be tough for the rest of us to figure out what you're talking about.

...And....

QuoteI've never heard it called 'omnislashing' here, but I know what you're talking about, and have engaged in it myself once or twice.  Here I've heard it called 'parsing.'

The first real name attached to this was "Fisking," after a notorious blogger named Robert Fisk whose posts broke somebody else's posts down into single sentences and monstrously-long replies to each item. Epic stuff, really.

QuoteThere's no rule against it that I know of, but I can say there's a pattern with regard to the practice -- quite often, one of the participants is a belligerent newbie (generally a militant liberal/progressive) who will soon be shown the exit. While there's not a 100% rule against it -- heck, just about all the mods and admins on the board have done it at one time or another -- it's usually a sign of someone yearning to be free, if you follow me.

Another take: it's also a sign someone REALLY rang your chimes! Or boredom. Nothing better to do. 

Quote from: Alaska Slim on August 29, 2014, 01:20:09 PM
Correct, The Boo Man... on this thread was the first to both question, and allude at all to me that this was a rule.

Here are a few times I used the ^ method, and no one called me on it as far as I see:

http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/the-pit/would-you-vote-for-romney-if-he-was-the-nominee/msg203083/#msg203083

http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/political-discussion-and-debate/isis-uncovers-saddam%27s-wmd%27s-in-iraq!!/msg203039/#msg203039

http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/political-discussion-and-debate/isis-uncovers-saddam%27s-wmd%27s-in-iraq!!/msg203026/#msg203026

http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/political-discussion-and-debate/grant-illegal-aliens-amnesty-or-they-will-become-terrorists/msg202759/#msg202759


Btw, I could still use a link to the list of rules if you have one.

Why not explore all the features this forum has to offer, instead of demand a sherpa?

Quote from: quiller on August 29, 2014, 01:27:25 PM
Why not explore all the features this forum has to offer, instead of demand a sherpa?

I've looked in just about every subforum, I couldn't find a sticky that alludes to rules. Did I miss it somewhere, or am I looking in the wrong place?

Quote from: quiller on August 29, 2014, 06:56:00 AM
And yet you found my one-liner, while pumping out reams of unbelievably dense-packed text, which got ignored by everyone. You've been warned not to do it. Told not to do "block text" posts. Cajoled to follow the rules.

Find where this wasn't true until we finally started putting dents in your thick and empty skull.

Another long-time poster sent me this message....

Actually, I think you ARE confusing him with Aristophanes. I almost did the same thing myself. You might want to look closely at the previous posts. Part of the problem is the fact that Slim doesn't much use the 'quote' button, and I've posted to help him understand why we value it so highly. Another part of the problem may be that Slim and Aristophanes showed up around the same time, and their posts can be confusing. Slim claims to be a libertarian (I have my doubts) and Aristophanes is a certifiable crackpot. But Aristophanes -- not Slim -- is the one whose posts tend to be ginormous monolithic blocks of gibberish.

In fairness, I post it below my own remark and acknowledge I could have had my trolls confused. The older I get, they all seem to sound alike.

Quote from: Alaska Slim on August 29, 2014, 01:35:04 PM
I've looked in just about every subforum, I couldn't find a sticky that alludes to rules. Did I miss it somewhere, or am I looking in the wrong place?

I think the answer to your question is that there is no list of rules. That issue was addressed, as I recall, a long time ago, not long after the board started, and it was decided that a list of hard and fast rules would not be good. Instead of searching for rules, I suggest you look instead for customs. This board has an atmosphere, if you will, that you won't find other places, and much of that comes from the customs we have come to use over the years.

The use of the quote function is one of those -- when in doubt, use it, bandwidth be damned. As Quiller has correctly pointed out, we don't all have T1s piped into our houses, but at the same time, no matter how you connect, there's not much point viewing a comment on another comment if you don't know what the first comment was, or if you have to spend a lot of time looking for it.

Another custom we have is avoiding ad hominem attacks. No one's opinion is banned here, but no one should be held up as a target for personal ridicule. That's just not what we do. When you see personal attacks cropping up in a thread, you can just about bet that one of the posters is headed for the door.

THIS IS NOT A CRITICISM OF YOU. I'm trying merely to share the sort of customs I'm talking about, and these two popped into my head.

Take your time and get into the site's groove, and I think you'll be glad you did.

Quote from: TboneAgain on August 29, 2014, 01:48:01 PM
I think the answer to your question is that there is no list of rules. That issue was addressed, as I recall, a long time ago, not long after the board started, and it was decided that a list of hard and fast rules would not be good. Instead of searching for rules, I suggest you look instead for customs. This board has an atmosphere, if you will, that you won't find other places, and much of that comes from the customs we have come to use over the years.

(. . . )

Another custom we have is avoiding ad hominem attacks. No one's opinion is banned here, but no one should be held up as a target for personal ridicule. That's just not what we do.

Mostly.