Re: [Pan-users] Feature Request: configurable quoting character

[Torstein Sunde]

Toby A Inkster wrote:
> It would be nice to quote text:
> | like this
> 
> or maybe:
> : like this
> 
> or even:
> TAI> like this

I have assumed you're talking about how quotes are transmitted, and not
just how quoting is *displayed*.

I strongly object to introducing non-standard quotation marks in Pan.
Using initials should absolutely be avoided, as it tends to cause
various problems for other newsreaders, e.g.:
- Not detecting the quoting, and thus not displaying it with the
intended formatting (typically colour).
- Improper rewrapping.  Due to the extra length, rewrapping may be
necessary when requoting.  This may make subsequent quotes look like a
complete mess.

A more thorough explanation can be found here:
  http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote3.html

Let me also add that the most severe mess caused by alternate quotation
marks is when there are many levels of quoting, which also is the case
alternate quotation marks are *supposed* to make the text more readable.

It should be up to the *reader* how the quoting is displayed.  It's
perfectly OK if a newsreader optionally enables the user to *display*
quoted text with the initials first, but that junk should not be
*posted*.  Quoting in a standardised format makes it much easier for
a newsreader to automatically detect who quoted what, and to display
the quotes according to the user's preferences.

Pan is a newsreader that encourages using good netiquette, e.g. by
warning against top posting, long lines and long signatures.  It
then would be inconsistent if Pan started allowing non-standard
quotation marks.