Include the forum's URL in quotes

Contribute Feature

AI-generated summary

Canapin suggests enhancing the quote feature in Discourse to include the forum’s URL in the quote syntax. This would allow users to click on a quoted username and be directed to the original post, improving cross-forum linking. Currently, when quoting content from one Discourse forum to another, the username appears but doesn’t link back to the source. The proposed change would modify the quote syntax to include the forum URL, enabling direct navigation to the original topic and post. This would make cross-posting more seamless and maintain better context when sharing content between Discourse instances.

1

Hi!

Discourse is widely used on the Internet.

I sometimes cross-post quotes from one to another, using the quote button instead of copy-pasting directly from the topic to keep the username and keep some content well-displayed.

Example, this post: 20" Mini Hatchet - Unicycles and Equipment - Unicyclist.com

If I copy-paste directly from the topic, starting from the ever beginning of the message until " is already riding around on one", like this:

image
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Pasting the content into another Discourse forum renders the content like this:

Ok, how the hell did I miss this? Have we discussed it already somewhere?

As far as I can tell this is the the old 20" Nimbus Purple monster unicycle but now with a cute :heart_eyes:, downsized Hatchet-style frame. That does however mean it has cotterless cranks rather than ISIS and no brakes nor a straightforward way to add them (though brakes on a 20", even with a fat tyre like this, is perhaps an overkill anyway :person_shrugging:t3:).

Despite being relatively low spec, that Hatchet style (in mini form) still looks great and since it is pretty cheap, I am sort of tempted anyway. I had already looked at the 20" monster before as a fun little thing.

I see that it is not avilable until October on UDC UK

unicycle.co.uk

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20

What can you do with a monstrous 20 x 4 inch tyre? Well, you can ride over just about anything like: deep snow, trails, sandy beaches and gravel tracks! The possibilities are endless. Not recommended for extreme trials.

Price: GBP 220

But the US website already has it. Indeed one of the guys I follow on Strava (Paolo Unitoonist ) is already riding around on one

If I use the quote button and copy-paste the generate quote, it looks like this:

It’s better, though clicking the username doesn’t do anything. The onebox’s content isn’t badly pasted, and we have the username at the top of the quote/

I suggest adding the forum’s URL in the quote syntax, so clicking the username would lead to the message on the original external topic.

Current generated quote syntax:

[quote="ruari, post:1, topic:278023"]

Proposed syntax:
[quote="ruari, post:1, topic:278023, url:https://unicyclist.com"]

This data would be enough to append the topic and posts’ ID to the URL. Clicking the username (or something else next to it) would then link to https://unicyclist.com/t/278023/1.

Overall, it would make quotes from one Discourse to another more seamless and integrated, without adding something like “source: 20" Mini Hatchet - Unicycles and Equipment - Unicyclist.com” additionally.

What do you think about that? All opinions welcome :smiley_cat:

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Cross-Discourse Quoting