The q element is intended to set off an inline quote inside a document. The HTML 4 specification indicates that browsers should automatically surround the content of a q element with language-sensitive quotation marks, and that authors should not include quotes. Netscape 6 supports this requirement, but IE 6/Windows does not. IE 5/Mac inserts quotes, but if the element's parent container is not left-aligned, the quotes float out of place. Internet Explorer 4 does not render such quote marks. If you need quotes around quoted text, you have no choice at this point but to include them yourself and not use the q element (because a future browser may add those quotes to the content). For a block-level quotation, see the blockquote element.

A URL pointing to an online source document from which the quotation is taken. This is not in any way a mechanism for copying or extracting content from another document. Presumably, the purpose of this HTML 4 recommendation is to encourage future browsers and search engines to utilize a reference to online source material for the benefit of readers and surfers. Version 6 browsers provide no practical functionality for this attribute.

The language being used for the element's attribute values and content. A browser can use this information to assist in proper rendering of content with respect to details such as treatment of ligatures (when supported by a particular font or required by a written language), quotation marks, and hyphenation. Other applications and search engines might use this information to aid the selection of spell-checking dictionaries and the creation of indices.