Thinkpads Forum

Could you make the signatures slightly longer

the BBCode takes up quite a bit of mine and I have to cut out a fair bit

Thanks

I wonder if we need yet longer signatures. With respect, one-half of your post was signature. We start to see the same stuff over and over again. Then, we see less content without scrolling because of signatures (not just yours). I don't mind small signatures at all, but I would like to retain some reason. In another forum I belong to, I got everything I needed into 3 lines of normal text. Just a thought. Let's see what others say. I am not carrying any torch on this one. ... JDH

I agree with JDH, long signatures take away from a forums look and readability. Keep them to no more than 2 or 3 lines.

I do think that it can be helpful to have longer signatures. To prevent them from taking up too much space, perhaps a smaller font can be used. For example:

T42(14" UXGA/5.41lb), R50p(QXGA/6.95lb), R50p(QXGA/6.92lb), HP nc2400(WXGA/1.2C-S/3.16lb), Vaio K23(WXGA/2.8P4/8.1lb), Inspiron 5000e(UXGA/7.74lb), Dell Dimension B110(2.53Cel-D), eMachines T1140(1.1P3), PackardBell Force 51CD(75PI)

I think a part of iamdmc's problem is that the formatting bbcode is included in the character limit. This is the default phpBB setting and I personally agree with it. Too many colours are distracting and offer little added value.

I will also say that not all long signatures are made equal. I find pianowizard's list of machines compressed into two lines to be much less distracting than when each machine was on its own line. (Though I'm still not sure what the purpose of including old P1 machines is... )

I think more characters would help. Even though mine is not that big, im at the max character with coding.

qviri wrote:(Though I'm still not sure what the purpose of including old P1 machines is... )

Two purposes. First, I just want to list all the computers that I own. Second, the list reminds me that I have too many computers and thus shouldn't buy more!

I agree with JD. We don't need longer signatures. They just clutter up the threads as is.

Take the unnecessary coding for colors out, who needs that?

jdhurst wrote:I wonder if we need yet longer signatures. With respect, one-half of your post was signature. We start to see the same stuff over and over again. Then, we see less content without scrolling because of signatures (not just yours).

<snip>

I totally agree to this (in particular: "We start to see the same stuff over and over again"), and I actually find such forums annoyingly "space wasting" and therefore almost user-fiendly (!!) to browse; see e.g. two random hard-to-read examples at Lenovo forum and Notebook Review [forum] - and note that some roughly 50 % of the total "window real estate" is taken up by commercials and/or completely unnecessary (and huge!) "user images" and signatures with ditto unnecessary images or just empty space; really - what is exactly the benefit and/or purpose of this complete space waste to anybody??

When I (rarely) browse such forums, the "big" user signatures sometimes reminds me of the overly long biographies which in particular certain scientific hotshots (or just wanna-bee's!) adds at the end of scientific papers (e.g. IEEE Transactions on this or that); sometimes such a biographies can take up more than a half page (!), and when the same person is then, say, the fifth co-author on two or three papers in the same journal issue, then it is just becomes too much - in stead leaving an almost ridiculous self-important "LOOK AT MEEE!" flavour! I would hate to see the same thing start here: Who gets to have the longest and biggest signature?? Why not just join a big-signature-forum in stead?

In direct contrast to the above examples: This wonderful forum! Perfect, short user profile at left, short "Posted" information atop each post, the super easily readable sub-forum one-line index, the SHORT and COMPACT user signatures; in effect extremely fast and efficient to browse and read!

Thanks a whole lot to all the Admins and Mods for having created and who are maintaining the forum the way it is now! Please, please, please... keep the forum the way it already is; it is such a pleasure to read; so easy to browse - well, I almost cannot emphasize enough how overly satisfied I am with this fantastic forum!

Best regards,

Johan

pianowizard wrote:I do think that it can be helpful to have longer signatures. To prevent them from taking up too much space, perhaps a smaller font can be used. For example:

T42(14" UXGA/5.41lb), R50p(QXGA/6.95lb), R50p(QXGA/6.92lb), HP nc2400(WXGA/1.2C-S/3.16lb), Vaio K23(WXGA/2.8P4/8.1lb), Inspiron 5000e(UXGA/7.74lb), Dell Dimension B110(2.53Cel-D), eMachines T1140(1.1P3), PackardBell Force 51CD(75PI)

yes, you can.   just add the bbcode to your current signature and it will become nice and compact (like mine ).   in fact, i've suggested that we look into making all signature text size 9 automatically to save even more space.

Alternatve:

Have a "personal inventory" area where people can list anything and everything they own (computer related of course).
Leave only two or three lines for a regular (normal) signature with a clickable link to a popup window similar to the one for PM notification that would reveal the entire forum members' inventory.

Those who want to see it can, and those who don't really care to see it won't.

The forum would retain a neat and readable appearance.


Joe

pianowizard wrote:

erik wrote:i've suggested that we look into making all signature text size 9 automatically to save even more space.

That's actually what I was suggesting in my 04 Mar 2008 9:37 am post above, but I guess I didn't say it clearly.

ahh, yes, i just misinterpreted what you said.   either way, changing the font size for everyone is now under discussion.

i don't think i CAN change the font size "universally" for only the sig lines..

says the guy with the longest sig line..

Keep the colors! It was some work to get everything just right.

The existing character limit stresses restraint/thoughtfulness, I can live with it.

I do agree that smaller fonts are better for signatures.

Can someone post the code/s they used to create the smaller fonts in their profile please?

The above has worked for me in the past when I used a sig. I think they look better in smaller font anyway.

]size=9]Type Stuff here]/size] replace backward brackets and your good to go.

Harryc wrote:Can someone post the code/s they used to create the smaller fonts in their profile please?

harry, this would be your signature code: and it would look like this:

X30 2673NG1, T30 236681U, R60 945657U, T60 20075TU, Macbook Pro

Erik, thank-you!

Just want to point out that the latest version of our forum software, phpBB 3, supports disabling of signatures as a preference for individual users. So, if you do not like to see signatures at all, you can simply turn them off in your profile settings and enjoy less clutter.