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Intriguing. I have never used Reddit except as a search result. The ">" is ubiquitous in email, usenet, Markdown, Github and Discord, which are more familiar.

Intriguing. I have never used Reddit except as a search result. The ">" is ubiquitous in email, usenet, Markdown, Github and Discord, which are more familiar. It seems to be a widely used convention here on HN as well, even though HN software doesn't highlight it. It's baked into a lot of modern software due to long-standing convention for about half a century. Nowadays that software includes anything taking input with a vague similarity to Markdown. There's a lot of that about.

LegitShady 5y ago
It's stupid. If HN implemented a quote feature, it would mean something. if I preceded every quote with a bold pipe | for each line of the quote it would be more noticeable, but of course HN doesn't provide a WYIWYG editor so you never know when a new line starts. It's just a first line visual indicator here. Consider me your quote symbol iconoclast. There's no reason for > to mean quote in a system that doesn't implement quotes. It's just a cultural construct being followed 'because thats how it was'.
- antonvs 5y ago
  > It's just a cultural construct That's the point. It doesn't have to "do anything" in software or be "implemented" to be useful - it has shared meaning in people's minds. You're reminding me of the small child who receives a non-electronic action figure for Christmas and immediately asks, "but what does it do?"
  - LegitShady 5y ago
    alternately, I just don't care what symbol is used since it's not connected to any actual function. Someone got offended that I used one symbol instead of another and when I said 'i don't really care' people jumped in to tell me how important it was to them. I still don't care.
    - antonvs 5y ago
      > alternately, I just don't care what symbol is used since it's not connected to any actual function. Put it like this: it is connected to an actual function, it's just that that function is in people's minds. As for people getting offended, I think you might be projecting. Let's look at how part of this conversation might have played out in an alternate universe: > I think it's actually a carry over from reddit, where it activates the quote, while here on hacker news it does nothing. It's just a symbol. > > It’s a carryover from long established internet (plaintext email, Usenet, etc.) convention, which is where reddit (and lots of other forums) got it, too. > > > Oh wow, I didn't know that! It's always cool to learn about the history of where things we take for granted come from. The point is, there's no need to take offense at a minor educational correction.
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > There's no reason for > to mean quote in a system that doesn't implement quotes. It's just a cultural construct So is all of language. There is no reason for “cultural construct” to mean cultural construct, its just a cultural construct. But shared cultural constructs are what enables communication.

LegitShady 5y ago

It's stupid. If HN implemented a quote feature, it would mean something. if I preceded every quote with a bold pipe | for each line of the quote it would be more noticeable, but of course HN doesn't provide a WYIWYG editor so you never know when a new line starts. It's just a first line visual indicator here. Consider me your quote symbol iconoclast. There's no reason for > to mean quote in a system that doesn't implement quotes. It's just a cultural construct being followed 'because thats how it was'.

antonvs 5y ago
> It's just a cultural construct That's the point. It doesn't have to "do anything" in software or be "implemented" to be useful - it has shared meaning in people's minds. You're reminding me of the small child who receives a non-electronic action figure for Christmas and immediately asks, "but what does it do?"
- LegitShady 5y ago
  alternately, I just don't care what symbol is used since it's not connected to any actual function. Someone got offended that I used one symbol instead of another and when I said 'i don't really care' people jumped in to tell me how important it was to them. I still don't care.
  - antonvs 5y ago
    > alternately, I just don't care what symbol is used since it's not connected to any actual function. Put it like this: it is connected to an actual function, it's just that that function is in people's minds. As for people getting offended, I think you might be projecting. Let's look at how part of this conversation might have played out in an alternate universe: > I think it's actually a carry over from reddit, where it activates the quote, while here on hacker news it does nothing. It's just a symbol. > > It’s a carryover from long established internet (plaintext email, Usenet, etc.) convention, which is where reddit (and lots of other forums) got it, too. > > > Oh wow, I didn't know that! It's always cool to learn about the history of where things we take for granted come from. The point is, there's no need to take offense at a minor educational correction.
dragonwriter 5y ago
> There's no reason for > to mean quote in a system that doesn't implement quotes. It's just a cultural construct So is all of language. There is no reason for “cultural construct” to mean cultural construct, its just a cultural construct. But shared cultural constructs are what enables communication.