[edited: changing my reply because i realized i screwed up... oops.]

Donna,
if you click on the Reply button inside the post you will get a reply with quote. If you are not logged in, this is the only button that appears inside posts. Once you are logged in, it is the leftmost button, or in the case of your own posts, it is the second button (Edit comes first).

To reply without quote, use either the Post Reply located at the bottom of each page on the thread (after the posts),or the Quick Reply button within the post.

Note that the Quick Reply button may show in different ways. On the default forum skin it is a paper with a quill. In any case, it is always the rightmost button.

hope that helps!

~ waves ~