Images in signature...

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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 7:37 am

I've not pitched in so far (I thought the thread would have died a death it deserved long ago!) but my two penn'orth is this: Images in sigs aren't too bad when they're kept small and simple on sites that have that type of flavour to them in the first place. So on some sites it works. On others, (thank you for the headache gnasher) people kick the ass out of it. And on others still, (419eater being a prime example) there is simply no need.

I like the uncluttered look, it's one of the few forums I know of where you can get straight to the point without being blinded by sloganisers etc.
And besides, I think the avatars and siggy lines are enough "personality" as it is, many of them give me a laugh.

I say no to siggy pictures.

And I also say no to superfluous signing of posts.

Yours sarcastically.

Mugatu.

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 7:45 am

I've added a poll. Seems like the vote is clear but maybe we can make it a bit more visual for Shiver to decide. Very Happy

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 8:57 am

I would have voted "no", but then I thought about all the whining about how other forums let their members do it, then I looked at rentacows postcount (by no means a postwhore), and decided that they should be allowed, but only for rentacow... Laughing

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 9:02 am

Ditto

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 12:16 pm

Don wrote:

That just is...

Now who joins me to sign up there and start posting pictures of cream tarts and chocolate? Hm? Laughing

I'm in, lets start with this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwBE1l6QexU

on topic: I voted no
what do cows have to do with this?

[edit: made stupid comment tiny sized]

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 3:10 pm

^^ next one: as in my, ahum, signature: linky

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 7:52 pm

rentacow wrote:

1) 100% of web forums I have come across has allowed signature pictures. 0% of web forums I have come across have had any problems with allowing them.

That's nice. My personal stats are exactly the opposite. I've hated (and soon vacated) 100% of the forums I've ever tried to read that allowed signature pictures. The signal to noise ratio was large enough to brave the unnecessarily huge signatures in 0% of them.

Quote:

3) Just like avatars, images can personalize someone much better than text.

Forums are generally for sharing information and ideas. That, to me, is why people post (or at least why they should post) in forums, not just to inflate their post count or share their supernifty signature image and shiny avatar. Expression of personality is not the primary aim of most good forums, more of a secondary one. I really don't need to see every image/banner/icon that ever caught a user's fancy in their signature, every time they post to get to know their personality. I prefer getting to know people through the actual content of their posts.

Image overload is one reason why I tend to stay far, far away from Myspace. I've yet to see a personal Myspace page that wasn't jam-packed with a million banners, blinky things, eye-assaulting backgrounds and iris-bleeding color combinations with nearly impossible to read text. On rare occasions, there's actually a speck of vital information about the person who created the page, but not often. The typical Myspace page tends to look like an explosion in a clipart factory.

Quote:

Final thought: Countless other web forums allow signature pictures.

And there are countless other web forums that are unmoderated, overrun by trolls, and even forums where illegal activity is not only discussed, but encouraged. Other web forums discuss and encourage racism. Or pedophilia. Or discuss politics and allow rampant flamewars. I tend to stay well away from those, too. "Other web forums do it" is not a good enough reason for me. You can justify anything with it.

Quote:

Why? Because they can't find a reason not to.

Polled all 100% of them, did you? Not a one of them allows it because the admin doesn't know any better or there are far fewer members than there are here? Or because the admin is more interested in sparkly banners for their own posts than usability? Or because the forum software/control panel doesn't allow the option to be turned off? Or because the admin doesn't even know where the setting is?

Quote:

If you think signature pictures will be a problem, just browse a few web forums that DO allow them.

I believe everyone who said they weren't wild about the idea also mentioned having already sampled forums that allowed signature pictures. I don't recall anyone saying "Why, I've never seen such a thing, but I still hate the idea!"

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 1:02 am

^^^ You would like my MySpace page MrsB. Simple just like me.

I rarely go to MySpace because it takes s-o-o-o long to load on dial-up.

Oh, I voted no too. After I dump my cache Eater takes a long time to load avatars and imbeded images upon returning to the site.

For those wondering, yes we do have fire here! Laughing

I live so far out (or is it farout) that the phone service charges extra each month for the privilege of providing service here! Shocked

You would think they hand delivered the service in buckets... Wink

EDIT: speelin' errows

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 1:06 am

Don wrote:

I've added a poll. ...

Ok, you gave us a "no" option, but where's the "hell no" option? Wink

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 4:00 am

I wonder who voted yes other than rentacow..... Question

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 4:59 am

I'm not voting...

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 6:42 am

mrsbean, that is one most excellent post! Glad you took the time to write it and I hope other will take the time to read it.

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 10:55 am

One of the other boards I frequent has this style and is a joy to behold.

A couple of the forum rules are:

Quote:

How many times should I include my signature in a thread?
Once per thread should be sufficient for people to admire the pearl of wisdom included in your signature. If you post multiple times in a thread it is recommended that you only include the signature in one of your posts.

Are there any other restrictions?
Please do not use signatures that distract users with large fonts, flashy colors, and other oddities. Signatures are meant to make a statement without taking away from the discussion in the thread.

Works well for me Very Happy

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:34 am

Quote:

quote="rentacow" = Countless other web forums allow signature pictures. Why? Because they can't find a reason not to. If you think signature pictures will be a problem, just browse a few web forums that DO allow them.

Personally I'll have a BIG problem with it, and not just from an aesthetics viewpoint.

I'll not be able to load the forums properly from my home PC because of connection speed problems.

And I'll no longer be able to view discretely from work either.
With avatars I can just move the parameters of the window so I just see the text. Pointless if there are pictures and graphics below each post.

So from my personal point of view, pictures in sig lines will mean bye bye 419 Eater from Simba.... Crying or Very sad

If you want to contact Lotta and explain to her why its better for the forums to have cutsie bunny pictures than to keep one of her mentees on board, then please feel free to do so.