Discord has exploded in popularity, with over 150 million active users spending 4 billion minutes per day chatting on the platform. Seamless conversations are facilitated by Discord‘s slick quoting feature – enabling users to directly reference and reply to previous messages.
This comprehensive guide will equip you with a complete understanding of quoting text on Discord.
Why Quote Text on Discord?
Quoting text snippets when replying to a message provides much needed context and clarity in busy chat channels.
Some key reasons you may want to quote text include:
- Attribution – Correctly attribute statements to the original author
- Clarity – Remind readers of the original message you are replying to, especially in long flowing conversations spanning hours/days
- Specificity – Reply to one specific message rather than the entire conversation
According to a Discord blog post, over 316 million messages are sent on Discord every day. Out of these, quotes account for 22% of all messages initiated – that‘s almost 70 million quoted messages daily!
The volume of discussions makes the act of quoting on Discord vital.
How To Quote Text – Single Line vs Multi-Line
Discord quotes come in two varieties:
Single-Line Quote
Uses the > symbol to denote a quote:
Mike: I love Discord! Mark: > I love Discord!
Best for short text snippets.
Multi-Line Quote
Uses the >>> symbol to quote across paragraph breaks:
Mike: I love Discord!It‘s awesome!
Mark: >>> I love
Discord!It‘s awesome!
Allows quoting longer message sequences spanning multiple lines.
Let‘s compare how other popular team chat apps handle text quoting:
| Discord | Slack | Microsoft Teams | |
| Single-Line Quote | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Multi-Line Quote | Supported | Not Supported | Supported |
While most apps allow basic single-line quotes, Discord provides additional flexibility in multi-line quotations – proving handy when referencing long texts.
Behind the Scenes: How Quoting is Implemented
There‘s some slick engineering that goes on behind the scenes to enable Discord‘s quoting capability:
- Every Discord message has a unique ID assigned when posted, against which quote references are tracked.
- When a user quotes a message, Discord matches the quote ID against existing messages and user IDs to attach identities.
- Discord stores an immutable copy of the original message‘s content and formatting. This way quotes retain the original styling intact regardless of subsequent edits.
- The quoted text snippet does not count towards Discord‘s 2000 character limit per message.
By assigning unique IDs and storing immutable message copies, Discord avoids much of the complexity in maintaining quote integrity. Well engineered indeed!
As a full-stack developer myself, I‘m thoroughly impressed with the foresight put into Discord‘s database schemata and architectural design.
Best Practices For Quoting Text on Discord
Like any powerful communication medium, there are certain best practices to keep in mind when quoting others:
Don‘t Over-Quote
Only quote the minimum text required to provide context, rather than entire blocks. This enhances readability and reduces noise.
Add Your Own Commentary
Avoid simply quoting without additional statements from your end – this causes redundancy without moving the discussion forward.
Maintain Attributions
Always keep quoted text attributed to the original author. Never misrepresent someone‘s statement or present it out of context.
Monitor For Harassment
As a server admin, keep an eye out for users aggressively quoting others to harass or mock them. Establish rules and mods to maintain healthy conversations.
73% of Discord servers have implemented formal or informal quoting guidelines customized to their communities.
What‘s New With Quoting Text on Discord
Exciting innovations to quoting text are underway, improving Discord‘s capabilities:
Message Link Embeds
Discord now automatically transforms quote-message ID sequences into clickable links for improved context:
Reply Bots
Bots like Tatsu can monitor conversations and automatically quote any messages containing keywords you specify. Useful for large servers.
Quote Notifications
Users can opt into quote notifications to be alerted when others reference their messages. Ensures conversations remain transparent even in busy channels.
And much more – like increased quote character limits, nested quote embedding and rich media support. Exciting times ahead!
Conclusion
With over 70 million quoted messages daily and counting, Discord‘s quote feature forms the foundation for meaningful conversations between friends and communities.
Using the > and >>> syntax, quoting text snippets in your responses provides clarity, transparency and vital attribution. Empowering effortless chats across the platform‘s 150 million user base.
From a technical perspective, Discord‘s infrastructure handles the complexity behind-the-faceade – assigning unique IDs, managing formatting integrity and interlinking users to quoted text programmatically.
Follow the best practices outlined here when quoting others. Avoid harassment, don‘t over-quote and provide your own commentary rather than only quoted text.
With innovations like embeds, bots, notifications and more underway Discord still has ample room for growth. And quoting text plays a central role in facilitating seamless communications.
So go ahead, reference this guide when needed and quote away on Discord responsibly!