re = /\[(quote)\]?\s*(?:author)?=?(\S+)*/m
str = '[quote author=username link=1150111054/0#7 date=1150151926][/quote]
[quote] username link=1142890417/0#43 date=1156429613]This is a very simple test sentence.[/quote]
[quote=user name pid=123456]
Test.[/quote]
[quote] user name link=1142890417/0#43 date=1156429613][quote] username link=1142890417/0#43 date=1156429613]This is a very simple test sentence.[/quote]
This is a very simple test sentence.[/quote]
'
subst = '[$1=$2]'
result = str.gsub(re, subst)
# Print the result of the substitution
puts result
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Ruby, please visit: http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.0/Regexp.html