I am also uncertain about whether those second order quotes should be linked. Maybe it’s worth trying out just to see it’s effects and revert upon complaints?
But I have another quote/link related concern:
I’m writing a reply in topic T1
I’m quoting a post P7 in topic T2
That quote from T2 unfolds if a reader clicks on it but there is no direct link leading from the quote box back to the original post in T2. So readers have no easy way of finding the P7 in its original context.
Even worse in a long and complicated thread it is looks like that quote is from T1.
Wouldn’t it make sense to include a link back to the original topic if a quote is not from the current topic?