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Is there a help article, FAQ or previous posts having a general recommendation regarding the proportional length of quoted content in an answer?

This is not about tags wikis having copy/pasted content from Wikipedia instead of tag usage guidelines, etc.

This is not either about posts not giving proper attribution.

This is about answers, including quotes that have proper attribution (or at least the author/community made an effort to do that), that proportionally have "too much" quoted content. I'm wondering how much might be too much, and if there might be some recommended tolerance for short answers, understanding that the quote doesn't require context other than the proper attribution and the provided by the question and site.

This question is in relation to several answers that I have seen mainly in Web Applications SE, the most recent beingthis answer to Use your Google Account to sign in to X. I liked this case in particular because it looks to combine having a good proportion of original content with a larger proportion of quoted content from external sources.

At first sight, it looks to me that the extent of the quoted content is too much. It looks to have quoted two articles, one quote looks very long in part because of the images, it includes around 10 short paragraphs. The second quote includes 5 short paragraphs.

Anyway, I'm not asking you to review this answer and each of the quotes. I'm asking for pointers to previous discussions, if any, about a general recommendation regarding the proportional length of quoted content in an answer. I know that How to reference material written by others (help article) does not include a limit regarding the proportion of the original content and the quoted content.

I think that usually should be encouraged to use textual quotes when the exact wording is relevant, but while the relevancy might vary depending on the question and the site scope/community I think that there might be general advice without entering too deep into the legal aspect about how much quoted text should be included in long answers. I imagine something like, the answer should contain at least 50% original content belonging to the answer author.

Some answers to technical questions, like those asking for help on fixing something, like code in Stack Overflow questions, might require to copy content from the question. I understand that in cases like this kind of recommendation doesn't apply.

An idea emerged from the comments

I think that it might be important to differentiate quoting paid content or any form of not generally available works including digital content requiring authentication or any form of access control vs. web content (publicly available like Wikipedia, major web applications help articles). On some sites or even by tags, it might be relevant both types of quoted content.

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I feel it very much depends on the site and the context.

I am overfond of saying attribution is necessary not sufficient.

If you're talking about an answer that by nature needs to refer heavily to a source or documentation, an answer can be substantially a quote. I'm not really a fan of 'big chunks of quotes' as answers but in some cases, an answer really is a 'literature review'. Even in those cases - there's generally a value add. Can you add in your own experiences or pitfalls for a less experienced user for example.

In a 'critique' of a work - large quotes are useful because it gives you context of your critiques. I do this a lot on meta, and I imagine if I'm talking about fiction/literature or media of any sort, it'll be the approach I'd take.

I imagine something like, the answer should contain at least 50% original content belonging to the answer author.

The old joke about weight or volume comes to mind. I've answers that are literally 90% screenshot with a RFHC, some minor filler text to meet word count, and the 'original' and essential content is.... the circle.

Having been through university more times than one would expect - I tend to think the 'right' level is 'Would this work as a term paper' but even that varies.

Looking at the specific example -

I think there's a massive difference between the original revision

per fsau on r/firefox 2022-10-31

If you use uBlock Origin, open your settings and check the uBlock Annoyances and AdGuard Annoyances lists

If you use the AdGuard extension, open the settings and enable the main Annoyances list

and the later one

The original one is a lazy quote/link only answer.

The later versions It explains why the tool is useful, and most of the instructions are 'generic' enough to carry over. Personally I'd fire up a sandbox or VM and tailor the screenshots to the specific use case but that's generally elevating an answer from 'useful' to 'great'.

The last revision has 'original' though generic screenshots. As for text - would a paraphrased version of the text add value? Sometimes that big quote is 'good enough'

And I think laziness is a factor too - is OP 'cynically' posting that for a quick answer? Is OP making an effort (and I see lots of effort here) to work on an answer past the quotes?

Is there a 'value add' in the answer (aside from reproducing the source for easy/permanent reference) in spite of the quote. Does OP draw from and build on more than the quoted source(s).

I think these things are more important than the 'absolute' amount of quotations.

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  • Thanks. I now see, mostly thanks to the links in the comments to the question, that there are sites were "by nature needs to refer heavily to a source or documentation" P.S. I don't see value in quoting large content sections for future reference for certain topics on interdependent stuff like an specific ad blocker (it's required The Web to make it work), anyway that discussion belongs to Web Applications and other sites where questions that might require answers including specific instructions about how to use ad blockers are on topic (Super User, Ask Different, Ask Ubuntu, Unix & Linux, ...? ).
    – Rubén
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 20:36

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