Pull quotes? An opinion poll

Submitted by domesticat on 10 July 2003 - 10:45am

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I've been pondering the idea of adding pull quotes on this site for quite some time. I'm aware that many of the pieces I make available on here for reading are quite long, and I've often wondered if I should treat them as they would be treated if they were in print. (Obviously, I'd need to turn them off for the lynx/PDA versions of this site.)

I'd welcome opinions on this subject. You can email them or place them in comments.

(Longer post forthcoming, hopefully today, if I can edit it into a shape I like.)

domesticat's blog

Comments

Submitted by gfmorris on 10 July 2003 - 11:13am.

I love pull quotes.

Submitted by Tialessa on 10 July 2003 - 11:18am.

Clueless here - what's a pull quote. I reserve the right to say "DOH!" when I finally figure out "oh THAT is a pull quote"...

Submitted by domesticat on 10 July 2003 - 12:03pm.

Pull quotes are relevant/interesting quotes pulled out of a longer article and displayed prominently in the article itself, usually in bolder, larger type. They're intended partly to catch the interest of readers who were otherwise just skimming, and to break up page monotony.

Submitted by andy (not verified) on 10 July 2003 - 12:38pm.

You realize what pull quotes would look like if I were doing them.... "Obviously, I'd [...] turn them off..." "Longer [...] a shape I like."

Submitted by sqyttles on 10 July 2003 - 1:45pm.

Would you do pull quotes to ALL of your entries or just all the entries to come? I think it's a good idea, mostly because the subjects of your posts are just like Penny-Arcade comic strip titles.

Submitted by domesticat on 10 July 2003 - 2:08pm.

HA! (a break of several minutes' worth of laughter ensues) You have absolutely NO idea how much your comment made me laugh. I've been waiting just a little over three years for someone to finally say, "Good grief, Amy, you really do pull those titles out of your ass." I quickly got bored with literal titles, so I had great fun just pulling random phrases I liked from the entries themselves, whether or not they actually fit. No one ever said anything. Ok. Maybe it's not as funny to other people, but man, I've been waiting for three years for someone to say that!

Submitted by domesticat on 10 July 2003 - 2:10pm.

But, to answer the question asked (how annoyingly direct of me) I'd probably just start adding quotes to the current entries, and then go back and hit a few highlights. Longest entries, entries I found interesting enough to revisit, the stuff on the so-called "best-of" page, etc. Note to self. Revisit that whole "best-of" page thing. It's probably time to update the lists.

Submitted by Noah on 10 July 2003 - 5:10pm.

Just 'cause some of us didn't say anything doesn't mean we didn't notice. ;) And go for it, I say.

Submitted by mmarlay on 11 July 2003 - 11:42am.

Allow me to cast the first anti-pull-quote vote. I find them distracting and obtrustive, whether in magazine articles or on web pages.

Submitted by Nillaith on 11 July 2003 - 6:06pm.

I'm for pull-quotes. I love them :)

Submitted by sqyttles on 13 July 2003 - 5:43pm.

Yeah, i made someone laugh. :-)