[Geist]

Yes how can I reply to a post without the original post auto-quoting itself in the reply box?

You're clicking the "Reply" button on the bottom right of somebody's comment which will start a new comment that includes theirs as an easy way to quote somebody. "New Reply" is below that which will bring you to a new page that has all of the options for commenting (i.e. images and links) but if you scroll to the bottom of a thread's page you can quick reply.