Just thought I would add a post to this thread as there has been one important change to the use of quote tags since this thread was started. This is the introduction of the 'View Post' button. The change is due to newer versions of the forum software that have slightly changed the structure of the quote tags.
This first image will show you the quote tags of a typical post:
So you better understand the structure of the quote tags I will break it down element by element.
This is the first part of the quote tag and identifies the author of the post you are quoting.
This is the second section of the opening quote tag and identifies the post number of the post you are quoting. Why is the post number part of the quote tags I hear you ask. Well it is there for a very good reason. This next image will illustrate it.
Notice this button '
' next to my user name in the quoted section of the post? This is called the 'View Post' button. When you click on this button it returns you to the actual post the quote is quoted from. This can be useful if someone has only quoted a small part of a post and you would like to read the quoted remarks in the context of the entire post. By having the post number as part of the quote tags it knows where to send you to when you click on the 'View Post' button. Don't forget that a semicolon goes in between the user name of the person you are quoting and the post number in the opening quote tag and serves as a seperator.
The last part of the quote tags is '[/QUOTE]'. This comes after everything you wish to quote and simply closes the quote tags so the forum software knows you have finished quoting. This is something that I see a lot of people forget but is a vital part of using the quote tags. Without it, the quote tags aren't closed and your response to the quote will be indistinguishable from the quote itself. Please be sure to always close the quote tags when you have finished quoting from another post.
Hope that all makes sense. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.