If a message is submitted via the elog command then the reply string '> ' is only inserted in the first line if a reply is made.
This message was submitted with the following commandline:
elog -v -h midas.psi.ch -p 80 -s elogdemo -l Forum -a "Icon=icon4.gif" -a "Author=Heiko Scheit"  -a "Author Email=h.scheit@mpi-hd.mpg.de" -a "Subject=elog submit problem" "...Message-text..."

Please press the reply button to see the problem.