#lang pollen

◊(define-meta title "block quotations")
◊hanging-topic[(topic-from-metas metas)]{Don't go on and on}

Formatting ◊em{block quotations} isn't hard. Reduce the ◊xref{point size} and ◊xref{line spacing} slightly. Indent the text block between half an inch and a full inch on the left side, and optionally the same on the right. As with ◊xref{first-line indents}, make the side indents large enough to be noticed, but not so large that the ◊xref{line length} is too short. Don’t put quotation marks at the ends. They’re redundant.

Block quotations are sometimes unavoidable. If a dispute involves the interpretation of an agreement, accuracy may demand extensive quoting.

But as a means of textual emphasis, block quotations sometimes become, like ◊xref{all caps}, a form of self-defeating typography. Lawyers often dump text into a block quotation because they want to signal “This source is really important, so I’ve quoted a lot of it!”

Instead, the actual signal a reader often gets is “Here’s something long and dull from another case whose meaning and relevance you’ll have to figure out for yourself because I can’t be bothered to summarize it!”

The reader’s next thought is usually “Great—I can skip this.” 