A Quick Notice on Forum Signatures

[James Falconer]

** Update: October 16, 2015 **
Signatures have been removed! Read below for more info on WHY we made this move. We thank each and every one of you for the feedback provided!

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Greetings all,

This is a quick and important notice on forum signatures.

For years now we have allowed members to add almost anything they like to their signatures. As we move forward into the fall and winter we're moving towards doing away with them completely, for many valid reasons:

1. Speed up load times
2. 'Mobile First' design in mind (signatures take up a LOT of space)
3. Curb unnecessary spam
4. Make modding easier by not having to deal with problem signatures
5. Put the focus back on posts (signatures can be distracting and make it hard to find what members have to say)
6. Clarity and unity across all communities

All that said, I'd appreciate any feedback you can provide. We don't want to simply 'flick the switch' before giving everyone a chance to reply. If you think it's a bad idea, let me know. Good idea, that's great too. Feedback is good.

Thanks everyone!

 

[HankAZ]

Greetings all,

This is a quick and important notice on forum signatures.

For years now we have allowed members to add almost anything they like to their signatures. As we move forward into the fall and winter we're moving towards doing away with them completely, for many valid reasons:

1. Speed up load times
2. 'Mobile First' design in mind (signatures take up a LOT of space)
3. Curb unnecessary spam
4. Make modding easier by not having to deal with problem signatures
5. Put the focus back on posts (signatures can be distracting and make it hard to find what members have to say)
6. Clarity and unity across all communities

All that said, I'd appreciate any feedback you can provide. We don't want to simply 'flick the switch' before giving everyone a chance to reply. If you think it's a bad idea, let me know. Good idea, that's great too. Feedback is good.

Thanks everyone!

Personally, I enjoy the signatures. It allows for a bit of personality. Perhaps you could limit the signature to a one or two line entry with no photos/links, etc, or otherwise restrict content... but please don't take them away.

Also, if you do remove them, how will you deal with the Tapatalk signature issue? Tapatalk adds its signature to the bottom of the post, and will continue to plague the forums, amounting to the "signature" version of "If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have them".

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

I like the idea of two or three lines only being allowed. Nothing bigger than 3-point font as long as it can be bolded.

 

[TwitchyPuppy]

I agree with the comments =)


Sent from my iPhone 6s using Tapatalk

 

[Algus]

Some forum posters use the field for useful links, others for a touch of personalization. I like limiting them to 2-3 lines.

I have seen on other forums the ability for users to toggle whether they see signatures or not. I don't know if is is possible to add that here, but it could be a good compromise between people who want them and people who do not.

 

[clouds0222]

Me too. I use tapatalk so my signature will show up, this would be unfair to others who may not use this program. I do agree to limiting to one or two lines, this would keep down clutter.


Sent from my iPad Mini 3 using Tapatalk. ��

Probably not the place to ask this, but what is Tapatalk?

 

[Algus]

It's on the Settings > General Settings page:

View attachment 94365

That is one request down! Thanks Hank!

Probably not the place to ask this, but what is Tapatalk?

Tapatalk is an app available for Android and iOS that lets you browse web forums. Each forum has to enable Tapatalk support on its own but you can make an account and keep all of your Tapatalk-enabled forums together. Pretty helpful!

One of the options it has (which I ~believe~ can be disabled) is that it includes a signature at the end of each post. Refer to Septembersrain's and EvilKittyCupake's posts above for examples of this.

 

[clouds0222]

Thanks everyone!