# How to reply + basic post styling and @mentions

**URL:** <https://www.infiniteconversations.com/t/how-to-reply-basic-post-styling-and-mentions/5463>\
**Category:** Support\
**Tags:** basic-tips\
**Created:** [September 30, 2022, 4:36am UTC](https://www.infiniteconversations.com/t/how-to-reply-basic-post-styling-and-mentions/5463 "2022-09-30T04:36:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kayla](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/infiniteconversations/user_avatar/www.infiniteconversations.com/kayla/32/5738_2.png) [@kayla](https://www.infiniteconversations.com/u/kayla)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 4:36am UTC](https://www.infiniteconversations.com/t/how-to-reply-basic-post-styling-and-mentions/5463/1 "2022-09-30T04:36:13Z")

</div>

## Replying

Press any ![post-action-reply](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/infiniteconversations/original/2X/f/f832d25fa4e3a75c23f52b9b715852f5edfb5751.svg) Reply button to open the editor panel at the bottom of your browser. Feel free to continue reading (and even navigate to different topics) while you compose your reply; minimize the editor for more room. Drafts will automatically be saved as you write. If you minimize the editor or navigate to a different topic, the editor might disappear. To open a draft, return to the topic you were replying to or click the highlighted bar at the bottom of your browser, and the editor will reappear with your draft.

The editor has two sides: the left side is where you compose your text, and the right is where you can see a preview of how your text styling will look.

![discourse-editor-save-and-minimize](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/infiniteconversations/original/2X/4/463c8651eb42233d820710bc775143ad43708d59.gif)

All posts (all replies are individual posts) are shown in the order they are published. However, there are a number of ways to follow the context of conversations.

To reply to a **specific post** in a topic, click the ![post-action-reply](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/infiniteconversations/original/2X/f/f832d25fa4e3a75c23f52b9b715852f5edfb5751.svg) Reply button at the end of that post and your reply will be linked to it.

- If your reply is the next one published after the post you are replying to, this will appear next in chronological order

- If yours is _not_ the next post chronologically-speaking, then two things happen after your post is published:

## Quoting

Simply select the text you’d like to quote and press the **Quote** button that pops up. Repeat for multiple quotes. They will be inserted into your reply where your cursor was located in the editor.

![discourse-select-to-quote](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/infiniteconversations/original/2X/0/0cdb098a4dab2dc490593161a10b52c62b0fc91e.gif)

## Bold

Select your text and use the ![editor-bold](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/infiniteconversations/original/2X/6/640afefcd8a1e10239b3ffce56dea910f95082a2.svg) button in the editor or use the keyboard shortcut (⌘B).

You can also use **markdown** ( ` **bold text** ` _or_` __bold text__ ` ), **bbcode** ( `[b]bold text[/b]` ), or **html** ( `<strong>bold text</strong>` ) if that’s more your speed; all will result in **bold text**.

## Italics

Select your text and use the ![editor-italic](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/infiniteconversations/original/2X/0/0be9f0bc0299c91f52c9004422fdee3344ac9607.svg) button in the editor or use the keyboard shortcut (⌘I).

You can also use **markdown** ( `*italic text*` _or_`_italic text_` ), **bbcode** ( `[i]italic text[/i]` ), or **html** ( `<em>italic text</em>` ); all will result in _italic text_.

## Bold + Italic

You can _ **bold and italicize** _ by using each editor button in turn. In **markdown** , use 3 asterisks: ` ***bold and italicize*** `

## Links

There’s a few ways to insert and display links. If you paste a url on a line by itself, you’ll get a “one-box” effect with a preview. For example:

`https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative`

becomes

> **[Cooperative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative)**
>
> A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise". Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors. They differ from collectives in that they are generally built from the bottom-up, rather than Res...

If you’d like to link a bit of text inside a paragraph, select your text, then select the ![editor-link](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/infiniteconversations/original/2X/2/246cdc4a836c24650765f8f1707e4650e98435f6.svg) button in the editor or use the keyboard shortcut (⌘K). You’ll get an _insert hyperlink_ dialog to place your url.

You can also use **markdown** : `[link text](https://url)`

Additionally, you can simply paste a url alongside other text, and the display text will be generated from the url’s _title_ metadata, like so: [Cooperative - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative)

## Blockquotes

To create a quote that is not from another post, select your text and click the ![editor-blockquote](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/infiniteconversations/original/2X/7/77fad9449e37c0af55e34b3a2caae941cbf1bb96.svg) button in the editor or use the keyboard shortcut (⌘⇧9). You can also use **markdown** by adding a \> character in front of each line. For example, this:

```auto
> But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
> “Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
> “How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
> “You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”
>
> *(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, [Chapter 6](https://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/resources/chapters-script/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/chapter-6/))*

```

becomes

> But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.  
> “Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”  
> “How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.  
> “You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”
> 
> _(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, [Chapter 6](https://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/resources/chapters-script/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/chapter-6/))_

You can also use **html** `<blockquote></blockquote>` or **bbcode** `[quote=name]quote text[/quote]`:

> [@name](#):
>
> quote text

## Emoji

To use [standard Emoji](http://www.emoji.codes/), just type `:` to begin selecting by name—such as `:wink:`—or traditional smileys—such as `;)`. They will magically transform to rendered versions: 😉 . You can also visually select emoji via the editor’s ![editor-emoji](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/infiniteconversations/original/2X/b/b417822fb08abfd42bee7bf2e741e3a54eb8df92.svg) button.

## Mentioning

To notify someone about your reply, mention their name. Type `@` to begin selecting a username.