Request: Sig Control? [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Gundato

2007-07-19, 04:11 PM

It is really getting obscene when more than a few users have signatures that are bigger than most of the disturbingly long over-analyzations of mis-interpreted jokes.

So would it be possible for the mods/admins to impose a basic limit (ie. no greater than X lines, images cannot be more than Y pixels tall), or better yet to implement something akin to what they have at Wizards' forums (the ability to only display the first Z lines or A pixels of a sig)?

There are more than a few clever sigs out there, but there are also more than a few people who don't really understand the concept of a signature.

Zherog

2007-07-19, 04:21 PM

So would it be possible for the mods/admins to impose a basic limit (ie. no greater than X lines, images cannot be more than Y pixels tall),

There's already some rules in place:

Posting Oversized Images
...

Any images in signatures that exceed a width of 550 pixels and are not placed under a Spoiler tag will also be considered oversized and will be removed. Any signature images over the 500kb limit will be removed, even if they are under a Spoiler tag.

or better yet to implement something akin to what they have at Wizards' forums (the ability to only display the first Z lines or A pixels of a sig)?

Two things to note about that feature.

1) it doesn't work right
2) it involves hacking the code, which puts it into Rawhide's "not very likely" category.

Renegade Paladin

2007-07-19, 04:31 PM

My signature is right at the character limit right now. I actually had to remove the italic tags from one of the quotes to make it fit. I don't think it's too incredibly long, which tells me that large images are the problem.

Of course, a lot of my character limit is taken up with BBCode tags for color text, but that's really not all that much added if it were all in visible plain text.

Samiam303

2007-07-19, 04:49 PM

Well, the problem is partly large images and partly the space you lose between quotes... Everything adds up. Most of the really big sigs are a combination of images, quotes, spoilers, and text.

Fax Celestis

2007-07-19, 04:55 PM

There's actually two limits: a 500 character "visible character" limit (basically, things that aren't board code), and a 1000 character "total character" limit (which includes board code in addition to text).

crimson77

2007-07-19, 07:05 PM

It is really getting obscene when more than a few users have signatures that are bigger than most of the disturbingly long over-analyzations of mis-interpreted jokes.

I struggle with seeing signatures that are longer than one's post.

Inyssius Tor

2007-07-19, 09:23 PM

I struggle with seeing signatures that are longer than anyone's post.

ZeroNumerous

2007-07-19, 10:03 PM

My signature is right at the character limit right now. I actually had to remove the italic tags from one of the quotes to make it fit. I don't think it's too incredibly long, which tells me that large images are the problem.

My signature is also at the character limit(1000 total, code included). However I spoilered my large images.

Jacob Orlove

2007-07-19, 10:11 PM

I struggle with seeing signatures that are longer than anyone's post.
I don't, but only because I have signatures completely disabled. I seriously suggest that anyone who has a problem with long signatures give it a try--you won't even recognize the forums.

Gundato

2007-07-19, 10:42 PM

I usually turn off sigs at a website, but there ARE some nice ones here. I dunno, looks like I will have to though. And I have always been wary of adblocking anything that isn't hosted by the user themselves (last thing I want to do is have to fish through that monstrocity of blockages to fix a website).

And a width limit is nice, but it is height that is the big problem here. I don't really wanna call anyone out (behind their back), but here is a pretty good example of people who kind of abuse the sig system

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?u=25966

I dunno, I have said what I had to for sanity's sake. Chances are I will finally break down and just disable them altogether. Just a shame since some people have great links in there.

Zherog

2007-07-19, 10:49 PM

Thanks - I've just added that image to my blocked list via AdBlock Plus (the best FireFox plugin EVAR!11111!!111!!!one!!!)

Gundato

2007-07-19, 10:50 PM

Yeah, you may want to just block everything related to that site. I have taken a look or two, and I don't see any real redeemable qualities...

Jacob Orlove

2007-07-19, 11:37 PM

That image doesn't display for me, because I have also disabled images in posts. I recommend that too; it's awesome. All I see is a url.

Rawhide

2007-07-20, 01:10 AM

I'll hassle the other mods about why the signature rules were all but dropped when the new rules went live. Maybe they weren't polished enough for the final revision or something.

crimson77

2007-07-20, 10:42 AM

My signature is also at the character limit(1000 total, code included). However I spoilered my large images.

If I may as this question of you. I in no way mean to flame or hurt your feelings but I am deeply confused as to why individuals put spoilers in their signatures. Maybe you could help me to understand your perspective.

Now, I may be mistaken, but my understanding of signatures is to display something that you would like others to see, maybe a quote or a website that you like. Spoiler boxes hide things and people might not look there. So why post something and then keep it hidden? Please help me to understand.

Zherog

2007-07-20, 10:57 AM

Because otherwise his signature would be even larger, and he'd draw the ire of several posters, and probably a couple of mods as well.

Lilly

2007-07-20, 11:33 AM

I remember that the sig guidlines got all but dropped because, well I don't know. I think the new forum software had something to do with it. The fact that there are now spoilers, and that we can't enforce image size automatically. And that we expanded the character limit on sigs.

I don't know enough about all the quirky forum software bits (they're dirty forum software bits :smallwink:) to know what we can and cannot have automatically enforced by the software. And I'll see if I can find the old sig guildlines and modify them for the new software.

Hushdawg

2007-07-20, 11:47 AM

I completely agree.

I am so sick of having to scroll through endless pages of posts that are 50% sig or more.

I understand that people want to customize the posts so that base information is always there to go "Hey! Look at me! I'm quasi-important in my own mind!" But it really has gotten out of hand.

Just glance through the latest thread of OOTS and see how many posts are one or two lines of actual text and 10-20 lines of sig crap.

Of course, you can see how I feel about sig usage \/\/\/

LCR

2007-07-20, 11:47 AM

I think some sigs are even more disturbing in the way they link to utter ... BS.
I don't mind general nonsense, but when those links (or pictures in the signature) are of political nature or something else to which I cannot reply due to forum rules, then that's something that bugs me.
I've already brought this up in another thread and told to report said user, but nothing happened ...

Edit: Oh, I've just noticed that exactly my question has been answered in another recently locked thread about signatures. So, um, consider this to be redundant.

Zherog

2007-07-20, 11:54 AM

Yeah, if you report a sig because it has a political or religious thingy in it (or some other rules violation), and it goes unresolved for a couple o' days, drop Wampa a PM with the gory details.

LCR

2007-07-20, 12:07 PM

I feel a bit bad about denunciating, but then that sig really, really bugs me ...

Argent

2007-07-20, 03:59 PM

I don't, but only because I have signatures completely disabled. I seriously suggest that anyone who has a problem with long signatures give it a try--you won't even recognize the forums.

I hadn't even known this was possible until your post -- thanks for the tip! Overlong or over-image-intensive sigs bug the heck out of me, and now I'm glad I don't have to see 'em any more. The heads-up is much appreciated!

WampaX

2007-07-20, 04:47 PM

Just glance through the latest thread of OOTS and see how many posts are one or two lines of actual text and 10-20 lines of sig crap.

Well, if people had a little more to say, would you not be as bothered by the big sigs?

I know I'd be a little happier if people could coalesce their feelings into something more profound than "Best.Strip.Ever" but that's a different battle altogether . . . :smallsigh:

FdL

2007-07-20, 04:56 PM

Well, there's reasons other than personal taste that can be applied to the problem of big or heavy signatures.

I think that the forum's server load issues should be enough, because it's cool to have images in your signatures, but I think it has its weight in transferred data...

ZeroNumerous

2007-07-20, 05:09 PM

Because otherwise his signature would be even larger, and he'd draw the ire of several posters, and probably a couple of mods as well.

This basically sums it up, Crimson77. It's more a convenience for other posters who don't want to read large signatures. The only thing I won't spoiler are things made by the good people down at the Arts and Crafts forum.

Zherog

2007-07-20, 05:24 PM

I know I'd be a little happier if people could coalesce their feelings into something more profound than "Best.Strip.Ever" but that's a different battle altogether . . . :smallsigh:

What's so amusing is every strip is the "Best.Strip.Ever"

Samiam303

2007-07-20, 05:44 PM

I think that the forum's server load issues should be enough, because it's cool to have images in your signatures, but I think it has its weight in transferred data...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but since sig images aren't hosted on the forum's server, wouldn't they not contribute to the server bandwidth problems?

Renegade Paladin

2007-07-20, 10:39 PM

No, they wouldn't, but that's beside the point. When a sig takes up a good portion of the screen, it's irritating to deal with.

Hushdawg

2007-07-20, 11:17 PM

Rawhide

2007-07-21, 12:37 AM

I feel that I need to weigh in here... Some signatures are clearly too large, yes. That much is obvious. It has actually been discussed before on another thread not too long ago.

Let me dispel a couple of myths first though.

Myth: Images with large filesizes (as opposed to images with large dimensions) cause the server to use more of its monthly transfer limit (sometimes erroneously called monthly bandwidth).
Fact: Images are not hosted on the GitP server and have no effect on it. However, they DO have an effect on each person's individual monthly limits AND their download speeds (correctly called bandwidth). This is a big no-no (putting your image in a spoiler will NOT help).

Myth: Moderate length signatures (take mine for example) will stretch the post considerably if the poster only types one line.
Fact: When the post only contains a small amount of content, the only stretching occurs between the gender indicator and the icons (report this post, etc) or reply/quote buttons. Note that there is a certain amount of white space used as a border here and not part of the signature. With longer posts that are already below the gender indicator, the extra scrolling is obviously between the start of the signature to the end.

Renegade Paladin

2007-07-21, 07:38 AM

Odd you mention that Renegade as your sig is irritating to me. Not because of content, but because of size. Look at the number of lines in your sig compared to the number of lines in your post. Realize that when you multiply that by all the other users here, it means that only about 1/4 of the words on a given page within a forum have any merit to the conversation whatsoever... and that's assuming that people are actually making coherent thoughts.
Okay, so long as you realize that all that space would still be there anyway. If there wasn't a sig, it would just be white space to allow for the gender indicator, location field, and avatar. Your own post has a roughly equivalent amount of white space where the signature would be despite the fact that you don't use a sig.

Hushdawg

2007-07-21, 09:30 AM

Okay, so long as you realize that all that space would still be there anyway. If there wasn't a sig, it would just be white space to allow for the gender indicator, location field, and avatar. Your own post has a roughly equivalent amount of white space where the signature would be despite the fact that you don't use a sig.

I do realize the space would be there, but it also wouldn't be filled with clutter.

I guess my argument will fall upon deaf ears though because I think the entire concept of sigs beyond a one-line tag are complete wastes of time and space.

Zherog

2007-07-21, 09:35 AM

Mine's two - is that acceptable? :smallwink:

Actually, I never thought I'd find somebody who despises sigs more than I do.

Rawhide: I have a question that's tangential to the current discussion. It was mentioned that there's two sig limits - 1000 total characters and 500 viewable characters. Is this a standard feature of vB, or is it a "hack" you installed here?

Hushdawg

2007-07-21, 09:58 AM

Mine's two - is that acceptable? :smallwink:

Actually, I never thought I'd find somebody who despises sigs more than I do.

Actually yeah, yours is fine. Your sig *IS* actually a sig"nature" which is what the damn thing is supposed to be in the first place.

It seems like Sigs these days are the interbutt equivelant to a hiker's staff, where he collects a badge from every official trail that he's walked on so that by the end of his life the staff is covered in badges and emblems and there's not much wood showing through.

Well, while it works for staffs the same concept does NOT apply to internet signatures. There have been entire weeks at a time that I haven't even read the forums just because I can't stand having to wade through all that visual pollution.

I would be perfectly happy if there were some sort of option that I could click on that would automatically hide ALL signatures from my forum-reading experience.

Fax Celestis

2007-07-21, 10:12 AM

Actually yeah, yours is fine. Your sig *IS* actually a sig"nature" which is what the damn thing is supposed to be in the first place.

It seems like Sigs these days are the interbutt equivelant to a hiker's staff, where he collects a badge from every official trail that he's walked on so that by the end of his life the staff is covered in badges and emblems and there's not much wood showing through.

Well, while it works for staffs the same concept does NOT apply to internet signatures. There have been entire weeks at a time that I haven't even read the forums just because I can't stand having to wade through all that visual pollution.

I would be perfectly happy if there were some sort of option that I could click on that would automatically hide ALL signatures from my forum-reading experience.

...and there is.

User CP > Edit Options.

Go down to the third box, and uncheck the part where it says "Show Signatures."

Problem solved.

Hushdawg

2007-07-21, 10:28 AM

...and there is.

User CP > Edit Options.

Go down to the third box, and uncheck the part where it says "Show Signatures."

Problem solved.

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!

I am super happy now!!!!

*does a dance like crazy*

How the heck did I miss that option for so long?

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTH ANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHAN KYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!

YIPPEEE!!!!!!!

Fax Celestis

2007-07-21, 10:46 AM

You're very welcome.

Vonriel

2007-07-21, 11:07 AM

Didn't someone else already say that there was that option? I can't remember if it was in this thread or not, but I do recall somebody mentioning it..

Edit:

I don't, but only because I have signatures completely disabled. I seriously suggest that anyone who has a problem with long signatures give it a try--you won't even recognize the forums.

So yeah, it was in this thread. :smalltongue:

FdL

2007-07-21, 05:55 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since sig images aren't hosted on the forum's server, wouldn't they not contribute to the server bandwidth problems?

Oh, I didn't know that. It's good to know.

Well, then what happens is that it's text-heavy signatures that could have a bandwidth impact, since all messages are hosted in the forum servers...

So roughly what, half the text that's posted is signatures?

Fax Celestis

2007-07-21, 06:09 PM

Oh, I didn't know that. It's good to know.

Well, then what happens is that it's text-heavy signatures that could have a bandwidth impact, since all messages are hosted in the forum servers...

So roughly what, half the text that's posted is signatures?

Except it doesn't store the signature with the post; it references a template that is placed into the post itself. This is why your old posts change signatures when you change your sig.

Basically, your sig is there once.

Gorbash Kazdar

2007-07-21, 08:51 PM

I'll hassle the other mods about why the signature rules were all but dropped when the new rules went live. Maybe they weren't polished enough for the final revision or something.
Just to dispel the mystery on this part, Rawhide's supposition here is exactly correct - the rough draft version of signature guidelines was very rough indeed and just not ready to be added onto the main rules, and that rule revision had been delayed enough already :smallwink:. After that... uh, well... we got busy? :smalltongue:

Renegade Paladin

2007-07-21, 11:47 PM

I do realize the space would be there, but it also wouldn't be filled with clutter.

I guess my argument will fall upon deaf ears though because I think the entire concept of sigs beyond a one-line tag are complete wastes of time and space.
No, it really isn't. In the sig I credit my avatar, and below that is stuff that's specifically there for easy reference as to which of my characters is speaking in the roleplaying forums; that is to say, it serves a useful purpose. I suppose I could cut one of the quotes, but frankly, I don't feel like it.

Hushdawg

2007-07-22, 12:15 AM

No, it really isn't. In the sig I credit my avatar, and below that is stuff that's specifically there for easy reference as to which of my characters is speaking in the roleplaying forums; that is to say, it serves a useful purpose. I suppose I could cut one of the quotes, but frankly, I don't feel like it.

You know what? don't worry about it.. totally a non-issue since someone pointed out that I could kill sigs.

I'm completely happy now that I can't see them at all.

Lilly

2007-07-22, 12:19 AM

Just to dispel the mystery on this part, Rawhide's supposition here is exactly correct - the rough draft version of signature guidelines was very rough indeed and just not ready to be added onto the main rules, and that rule revision had been delayed enough already :smallwink:. After that... uh, well... we got busy? :smalltongue:

Yes, we all got very "busy". Very very "busy" :smallwink:

Hell Puppi

2007-07-22, 12:20 AM

You know what? don't worry about it.. totally a non-issue since someone pointed out that I could kill sigs.

I'm completely happy now that I can't see them at all.

I have this strange notion that evil actually means Hushdawg.....

....but that just me :smallwink:

Zherog

2007-07-22, 10:42 AM

Yes, we all got very "busy". Very very "busy" :smallwink:

A) I have a dirty mind
B) I'm jealous

Roland St. Jude

2007-07-22, 10:51 AM

'What happens at the moderator retreat stays at the moderator retreat.'

Rawhide

2007-07-22, 07:00 PM

*sniff* I feel so left out. Just because I'm in Australia, I don't get to play any of the reindeer games :smalleek:.

Hell Puppi

2007-07-24, 01:07 AM

The reindeer cheat anyway.

Charity

2007-07-24, 05:09 AM

Talking sigs, your's is out of date Rawhide
Mals game has given way to the new world order (http://www.bestfreeforums.com/forums/el-jasperos-games-vf8-rpg.html)

Logic

2007-07-25, 12:12 AM

I have most of my signature contained in a spoiler, because, only the truly curious will bother.

The only 2 parts that shall not be contained in spoiler are my normal avatar (So I can be more readily recognized due to my affinity for a new avatar every few months) and my respect for a fallen Playgrounder.

In general, I do agree that many signatures are far too long, and should not contain more than 6 lines of length. (Excluding stuff in spoilers)

Gefangnis

2007-07-25, 12:16 PM

It probably doesn't help if your resolution is low. I have mine at 1600x1200, so sig images are pretty small, and I also have text at a small size (by holding control in firefox and rolling the mousewheel up) so signatures really don't bother me that much.

Shhalahr Windrider

2007-07-25, 04:40 PM

It probably doesn't help if your resolution is low.
The entire boards pretty well require a 1024 pixel wide screen. Keep your window any smaller than that, and you get a Horizontal Scroll Bar of Doom™.

Naturally, my computer's max resolution is 1024 x 768.

Jeggred Von

2007-07-25, 06:27 PM

I have to agree, to a point.

There are some sigs out there with some seriously stupid content.
I've seen:
"What kind of elf are you?"
"What color is your magic color?"
"awards for avatars"
"previously used avatars"
and my least favorite:
"Look what cool quote some random person wrote about me"

Everyone uses their sigs for their identity, just like their own OOTS avatar.
My opinion. the entire signature should be spoilered. forcing everyone to hide their spoilers. THis would A. clear upthe clutter mr. rabid devildog sig guy said, and B. leave the option for those who feel the need to have "look i'm a wood elf" stuff in there to be there. Leaving pics out of spoilers may be, to you, something you feel needs to be done, but for me, when someone posts and I say to myself, " Self, now that person is [insert positive or negative adjective here]! I need to see what is in their sig... I'll click on a spoiler. rather than than be forced to watch an ever spinning animated gif of "LOL, ROFLMAO, LAWLZ..stop leet speak" or some other annoying sig file.
I wish people would treat their forum "vehicle" like their Real life vehicle. You ever see someone with a 5 fot x 6 foot bumper sticker covering their entire bumper and trunk and 3/4 of their rear window? why? because it's unsightly..

Just the idea that using a signature file should be allowed, but to appease everyone, the custom avatar should be sufficent, everything else: spoiler.

and before anyone starts hopping up and down pointing to my sig...
My signature file is nothing for anyone...but me. It's a refrence to links iuse alot. I DM 4 games on the forums, and use the links to forum hop. and if they laid down the law like I dream they would, I'd GLADLY put mine in a sig file., matter of fact....*goes and does it*

Just Jegg.

Nightgaunt

2007-07-25, 07:46 PM

I wish people would treat their forum "vehicle" like their Real life vehicle. You ever see someone with a 5 fot x 6 foot bumper sticker covering their entire bumper and trunk and 3/4 of their rear window? why? because it's unsightly..

No but I have seen people who cover the entire back of their car with hundreds of little bumper stickers...

Sigs on forums are like Cell Phone Ringers in Clubs/Pubs.