# Quote button on closed topics still does not behave as expected
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840
**Category:** Feature
**Created:** [2월 23, 2017, 5:05오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840 "2017-02-23T17:05:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [2월 23, 2017, 5:05오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/1 "2017-02-23T17:05:12Z")
Continuing the discussion from [Quote post from closed topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-post-from-closed-topic/26480/11):
I was trying to reply using selecting text and pressing the quote button, but the selected text was not appearing in the editor. Turns out the topic was closed and I was creating a new topic.
I found a few other threads about this and they all suggest that everything is working as expected now, but I am still puzzled why I get a quote button that does not actually quote the selected text…
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2월 23, 2017, 9:44오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/2 "2017-02-23T21:44:00Z")
What should the behavior be, exactly? We don’t want to encourage people to create a bunch of new topics just by quoting.
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### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [2월 23, 2017, 10:31오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/3 "2017-02-23T22:31:27Z")
If there is a quote button, it should… quote?
So if that is not desired, there shouldn’t be a quote button, just a “reply as new topic” button somewhere.
Or it should quote but discourage people in some other way to create a new topic.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2월 24, 2017, 12:54오전 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/4 "2017-02-24T00:54:26Z")
It will quote, if you have a valid editor up. The question is, should a new editor be triggered in this case?
Try it yourself
1. Start a new topic or a new reply to an existing topic
2. Navigate to a closed topic and begin quoting
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### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [2월 24, 2017, 6:05오전 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/5 "2017-02-24T06:05:14Z")
That also works if you quote on the same closed topic twice.
I’ve always been taught Albert Einsteins wise quote “_Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results_” but now that actually is the case 🙂
The first time it only opens up an editor, the second time it has an editor and it quotes the text.
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But ok: if there is logic that prevents the quote button from quoting, why not apply the same logic to prevent the quote button from appearing ? Because now there is a quote button that sometimes does… nothing. And the next time it does work…
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2월 24, 2017, 6:44오전 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/6 "2017-02-24T06:44:02Z")
Interesting, maybe this is more of a straight up bug? Can you check @techapj?
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### Author:  [@erlend\_sh](https://meta.discourse.org/u/erlend_sh)
#### Post date: [3월 10, 2017, 7:52오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/7 "2017-03-10T19:52:53Z")
So how do we want this to work? Do we want the quote button to show up **only if you have the editor open?**
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### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [3월 10, 2017, 8:02오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/8 "2017-03-10T20:02:44Z")
Two things:
1. If a quote button is shown and used, it should always work.
2. Don’t show the quote button at all if (the topic is closed and there is no editor already open).
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### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [3월 11, 2017, 3:02오전 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/9 "2017-03-11T03:02:49Z")
I personally prefer option 1. That being said, option 2 is much better than the current system.
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### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [3월 11, 2017, 7:51오전 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/10 "2017-03-11T07:51:16Z")
Those weren’t options, it were two rules that both need to be satisfied.
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### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [3월 12, 2017, 3:04오전 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/11 "2017-03-12T03:04:48Z")
I’m confused why they both need to be satisfied. At the moment, the quote button is always shown. As such, the condition in rule 1 is true, so the consequence (it should always work) would be true as well. In this case, rule 2 never applies as the quote button is always shown.
Am I not understanding something?
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### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [3월 12, 2017, 3:16오전 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/12 "2017-03-12T03:16:54Z")
The quote button is not quoting if pressed in a closed topic by design:
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> We don’t want to encourage people to create a bunch of new topics just by quoting.
Because of this requirement, the current behavior is that pressing the quote button in a closed topic doesn’t quote, except when there is an editor open. However, it does open an editor, but without quoting. That’s confusing.
Pressing the quote button twice does what the user expect since the second time, an editor is already open.
So that’s bad, IMHO.
- the quote button appears but does not quote
- pressing the quote button twice circumvents preventing the functionality that discourages opening a new topic. Yes, having to press a button twice will actually discourage it’s use, but it also confuses the user.
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### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [3월 12, 2017, 3:26오전 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/13 "2017-03-12T03:26:40Z")
> [@RGJ](#):
>
> The quote button is not quoting if pressed in a closed topic by design:
Agreed. I understand that the current lack of quoting on first click is by design. However, I still don’t understand why rule 2 is needed _if_ rule one applied. _If_ the quote button is always displayed, it should always work, and work consistently. In that case, there would never be “don’t show the quote button”.
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### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [3월 12, 2017, 7:30오전 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/14 "2017-03-12T07:30:57Z")
> [@jomaxro](#):
>
> However, I still don’t understand why rule 2 is needed if rule one applied
Because @codinghorror doesn’t want it to work that way, and I can see why: it would it make too easy to (accidentally) create a new topic by quoting something from a closed topic.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [3월 12, 2017, 7:31오전 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/15 "2017-03-12T07:31:38Z")
Yes, this is a serious negative. Starting a new topic should be _very_ intentional.
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### Author:  [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)
#### Post date: [8월 20, 2018, 2:35오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/17 "2018-08-20T14:35:06Z")
Quoting from a closed topic when the composer is closed and empty, opens the composer to create a new topic with the following text
```
Continuing the discussion from [Closed topic](https://try.discourse.org/t/closed-topic/1):
[quote="discourse, post:1, topic:1"]
...Quoted text...
[/quote]
```
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### Author:  [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)
#### Post date: [8월 20, 2018, 2:35오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quote-button-on-closed-topics-still-does-not-behave-as-expected/57840/18 "2018-08-20T14:35:09Z")