Signatures

[ArtCrusade]

It'd be nice if we were able to put an image into our signature. 300x120 would be enough and would not be in any way distracting as long as .GIF and .APNG wouldn't be allowed. It'd also open new ways for competitions and jokes. People could make signatures for special events (like upcoming christmas). I already have an example:

This is my normal signature:


And this is my christmas-version:


So many forums have it, an equal amount have no problem with it. So why not ours?

[suxerz]

Nah.. I prefer our sleek, clean and annoyance-free signature. One of the reason that I hang out here more than other forum is due to this fact.

[ddevans96]

This would be a pretty good idea. I've seen it on several forums I've visited or joined, and if it doesn't move or flash, it's not too annoying.

[pikachufan2164]

After digging through the Forum News and Announcements archives, I found this explanation from SG:

I did something I was supposed to do a long time ago which was that I removed some of the signature options to improve load times and to make the forums more readable. Basically now all you can have is regular and italic text.

If you see some parts or all of your signature missing,that means you are using illegal BBC tags. To make your signature visible again, all you need to do is go to your profile and remove those tags.

While this might annoy some people, it's for the common good.

At some point I will install a plugin that gives more customization options in your profile. Then you will be able to add all kinds of cool stuff to your profile, like images etc.

[Scaredgirl]

I have always disliked images in signatures, and I'm not a big fan of of text signatures either. I see it as useless spam that makes communication more difficult.

Think of it as a conversation. Every time you say something, you finish it off by saying your "signature".

Frank: Hello, Jane. I like cake.
Jane: Hi, Frank. Entropy rules!
Frank: So what have you been up to? I like cake.
Jane: Nothing much, just shopping some Christmas gifts. Entropy rules!
Frank: Really? Cool. Did you find anything? I like cake.
Jane: Yes, I found lots of good gifts for myself. Entropy rules!

If you think about it, that's what forum signatures are: useless spam between posts. If you want to add something special to your forum account, I suggest you active Ultimate Profile (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,8167.0.html) and add all the images you want. You can also add YouTube videos etc.

Sure many forums have images in signatures, but I know many that don't. But it doesn't even matter really because I don't think decisions should be made based on what others have.

I would like to meet the first person who came up with the forum signature thing so that I could punch him or her. Maybe I'll use a time machine and send a terminator to take him/her out.

[918273645]

I find images quite annoying. I vote no.

[ArtCrusade]

As much as I understand you, SG, but signatures are just as important as your avatar. Your avatar shows everyone part of your personality, some little thing about you. Some have stupid pictures of laser-spitting smileys, others are more serious. But everyone can display the world a bit of themselves. Signatures do exactly the same, just that you can show a little bit more, make you a bit more you, make you more unique. Think of it like that, without signatures and avatars all your account would consist of would be your name and the text you write. Sure, you can argue like "it's not really necessary", but then you can go and remove avatars as well. Why, you say you wouldn't? Then ask yourself why. The answer is the same why signatures are a good idea. I think you exaggerate a bit saying they're useless and distracting, because, in fact, they are not. The reason why they are not is, that there are rules which must be obeyed. Options for users can be added like "disable signatures", so you wouldn't even see the text you seem hate so much. It depends on the user himself whether he likes to see the signature or not. And after all they are only pictures, no annoying flashing movies.

[lukce]

I totally agree with SG. Activate Ultimate Profile

[smuglapse]

Frank: Hello, Jane. I like cake.
Jane: Hi, Frank. Entropy rules!
Frank: So what have you been up to? I like cake.
Jane: Nothing much, just shopping some Christmas gifts. Entropy rules!
Frank: Really? Cool. Did you find anything? I like cake.
Jane: Yes, I found lots of good gifts for myself. Entropy rules!

signature: Entropy = win.

[Scaredgirl]

As much as I understand you, SG, but signatures are just as important as your avatar. Your avatar shows everyone part of your personality, some little thing about you. Some have stupid pictures of laser-spitting smileys, others are more serious. But everyone can display the world a bit of themselves. Signatures do exactly the same, just that you can show a little bit more, make you a bit more you, make you more unique. Think of it like that, without signatures and avatars all your account would consist of would be your name and the text you write. Sure, you can argue like "it's not really necessary", but then you can go and remove avatars as well. Why, you say you wouldn't? Then ask yourself why. The answer is the same why signatures are a good idea. I think you exaggerate a bit saying they're useless and distracting, because, in fact, they are not. The reason why they are not is, that there are rules which must be obeyed. Options for users can be added like "disable signatures", so you wouldn't even see the text you seem hate so much. It depends on the user himself whether he likes to see the signature or not. And after all they are only pictures, no annoying flashing movies.

There's one big difference between avatar image and signatures. Avatar images are of the left, while signatures are between content. The first one is not a problem because it doesn't interfere with your reading. Also it sometimes helps to identify the poster faster that his or her name would. The latter is distracting and increases the need for vertical scrolling. Both of those are bad for usability. If you say it's not distracting, then I'm sorry to say, you don't understand usability.

If you want to be unique, use the Ultimate Profile I gave a link to. It has many different options, much more than what a simple signature gives you. Other option is to be unique by what you do and say on this forum, instead of what kind of 600x150 image you are spamming under every single post.

[ArtCrusade]

As I suggested, there should be an option for users to display/hide signatures of all users, with or without pictures. You want maximum usability? Use the option.

[ddevans96]

As I suggested, there should be an option for users to display/hide signatures of all users, with or without pictures. You want maximum usability? Use the option.

There already is an option to disable signatures.