@ + Username = what?

[anon8380037]

When I first started on this big forum, I thought putting @Madd54, for example, alerted that person they were being quoted in a post.
Turns out being "quoted"" of course meant your post being quoted and you are alerted to being addressed in a response (something like that).

Is there a purpose in putting @ before a username?



[for reference purposes: this is dumb question #3874 from this member]

 

[cpaight]

If you're not going to quote their post but want to respond directly to a comment someone made (especially if there are other replies between yours and their original comment), then @username lets everyone know who you're responding to....they won't get a formal notification but at least there won't be any confusion about who you just called "Drooling ***** Fanboy"!!

 

[anon8380037]

@cpaight - yeh I knew it was used like that.
I thought I saw other uses in a post, like when you are referring to another member in a sentence you were supposed to put @B.Diddy - but could be just me. Oh well! Thanks.