You should be seeing a (small) line that says 'Include quoted text with
reply' and a box alongside.  The default is a checked box.  Unchecking the
box should eliminate all the prior stuff.

To quote only a portion of the prior message you'll need to go into 'More
Reply Options'.

Gmail is great (I use it for another list) but does require some extra
effort to edit replies.

Geo

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jake de Villiers" <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
>
> I use Gmail - I click on 'Reply All' or 'Reply' if its personal.
>
> What other step(s) do you want me to take?