hi david,
sorry for the troubles. the standard method for email replies these days is reply-at-the-top (see gmail, e.g.), where the discourse parser is expecting this to be the case given that it is the predominant method of how email clients work. and interacting with the forum in a browser tab is also rather straightforward.
creating a system where all possible methods of interacting and parsing is handled, no matter how each end-user actually provides their input, is an impossible task. hence, at the very least a minimum set of guidelines and multiple methods is made possible. that this doesn’t cover 100% of all possibilities is to be expected. the guidelines are pinned at the top of the forum, are very explicit, and can be found here, no need to have to remember.
your last message came through successfully. i would suggest re-sending your original query the same way as this last message, or provide your post directly in the forum using your preferred web browser.
thanks,
richard