I don't follow all the rules of the site to a T, mainly because I generally don't post (one of the reasons why I double post because im not sure how to quote two seperate quotes in the same post).
That part is actually fairly simple. There are two ways to do it:
You just reply to one post. Then, if you see a second post that you want to reply to right away, you just hit "reply" to that one, copy the text (including the "QUOTE/QUOTE" formatting in brackets), then go back to your reply, hit the "edit" button, paste the quoted material that you copied earlier and then reply to it the way you would a regular post.
Or you can simply copy the text that you want to reply to, scroll down to your original reply and hit the "edit" button, paste that material and then go up to the top of the posting box where you see what looks like a cartoon "talk" balloon (to the right of the "insert image" icon). Select/highlight the text you want to show as a quote, then click on that talk balloon. It will automatically insert quote tags around the text that you selected.
Now, back to the original topic of "gushing" and whether or not to address that in the forum. I have mixed feelings about that. After all, one person's "gushing" is another person's enthusiasm for a character. I agree that all our opinions have a place here, and I do think it's not our place, as posters, to make another poster (or group of posters) feel unwelcome. As long as their opinions are not of the "attack" variety (whether that be to other posters, characters on the show and/or the actors who play them), then I think they are relevant here.
My personal experience with that was on another "CSI" forum where Jorja/Sara seems to be strongly disliked (and that's putting it mildly). Any posts supporting her -- no matter how well-reasoned they may be -- are not welcomed, and that quickly becomes clear with all the pile-on posts that are sure to follow. I am not Sara's biggest fan by any stretch, and I'm certainly not a fan of GSR, yet I would never dream of posting some of the stuff that I saw posted there. There's some serious vitriol going on there. I finally gave up trying to be a "voice of reason" counterbalance in defense of Sara, because no one really seemed interested, and in a few cases certain posters even started attacking me. It was a passive-aggressive method of bullying, but bullying nonetheless. ("How can a seemingly intelligent poster like yourself believe this?" Talk about a backhanded compliment, LOL!)
So I can see why this rule is in place here. It's all too easy for one post to turn into a pile-on, and as I have discovered, that is not conducive to good discussion. The only people it satisfies are those who agree . . . but it is an isolating tactic that freezes out other opinions.