Signatures are coming back... Here's how it works

[Taco John]

Hey gang.

We took a vote and the signatures coming back option has won out. Not by a huge margin, but it has won out nonetheless. I have mixed feelings about this personally, as I enjoy the character and personality it brings to the board and brings out of the posters, but I hate the borderline stuff that puts undue stress on myself and our fair moderators.

Rather than go through a whole voting system of what's acceptable and what's not acceptable and all that other crap that ends up being a mine field of "you didn't include this option, you didn't include that option, now these options are out of balance," I'm just going to do what I've done in the past that seemed to work out pretty well... I'm going to use my best judgement to make things as fair as I can to all the parties involved, and make adjustments as their needs arise.

So at this time let me address a few of these parties, as I see them:

People Who Don't Want to See Signatures
The good news is, if you don't want to see signatures, you never have to, so there's absolutely nothing changing for you. Simply go to your "User CP" and click "Edit Options." In there you will find a section called "Visible Post Elements" where you can turn off signatures and even avatars. Here is a shortcut to that page.

People Who Want Signatures Done This Way, That Way, or The Other Way
This is the stuff that got me in trouble last time because options start setting up against other options, but helping other options, and it just turns into a mess. It's like Ralph Nader screwing up what the majority of people want and letting Bush sqeak in ( ). So instead I have a solution that I think that everyone will at least think is fair. I hope you're with me, and will at least be ok with what's fair.

Moderators
This is going to be easy. The rules are going to be black and white. If they're broken, then it's easy. That person loses their signature privledges. Period. If there is any question on the appropriateness of the signature, you send a link to another mod, and if two mods agree that it's over the line, privledges get lost. It's that simple. Will people complain? Will there be a debate? Sure. Over in the horses butt, there will be plenty of discussion, I'm sure. Let 'em complain over there. The community will overwhelmingly support action against the borderline stuff, believe me. The majority of folks here surf from work anyway, and as an administrator, I want to cater to this sensitivity (I used to be a cubicle surfing Maner myself). When anyone posts a signature that is borderline, that's just the risk that they're taking. If they want to go there, that's on them, but the minute they submit a borderline signature, they're taking a gamble with their privledges. Sometimes when you gamble, you lose. It'll be up to the mods to determine the winners from the losers. But let me make something a little more clearer: ANY TWO MODS. So if one mod thinks something might cross the line, and the second mod does not... and then a third mod does not... And then the fourth mod DOES... The privledges are lost. There are no tiebreakers to worry about. There is no BS petitioning. If any two of our very sensible and fair mods agree that the line has been crossed, then the line has been crossed... and privledges are lost. There is a user group titled "Registered (No Signature)." You simply set that as the user group in their back-end profile. If you have any questions, talk to me, or bring it up in the Orange Horsemen Forum.

Everyone Else
Many here will be happy to hear that signatures are coming back. They're a great deal of fun when they don't become a huge distraction, and I'm going to enjoy them for the most part. The problem before was that the board grew so large that it became hard to do quality control on them, and the result was some pretty ridiculous stuff. Sometimes you'd see one sentance posts with a signature that filled up the entire page. Other times, it would turn into a boundry pushing smut tag that would fill my inbox with complaints. People just didn't seem to want to set boundaries on themselves like everybody had when we were a smaller community. Growing pains are bound to happen, and I'm sure this site hasn't seen the last of them.

So here is the deal, by now you've read the consequences for breaking the rules, so let's get into the specifics of what those rules are. They're simple:

Rule #1: If your signature does not fall within one of the two boxes below, you will lose signature privledges. This stands for both text and images.

Rule #2: When you submit a borderline signature, you are taking a gamble. If your signature crosses the line of decency that any two moderators agree on, you will lose your signature privledges. Thus, It is your fault if you lose signature privledges. To understand where the line is drawn, ask yourself "is someone's uptight boss going to fire an OManer if he saw this on the screen?" That's the vicinity that the line is drawn.

Two simple rules. Black and white. Cut and dried.

All text and all images must fall within the following two images, that is THE ENTIRE SIGNATURE MUST FIT in the following two boxes:

Please visit our Photoshop Forum if you need help getting your signature within the standard. There you will find a thread entitled The "Please Help Me With My Signature" Thread. You will get the help you need there.

This rule goes in effect on Thursday, December 15.

Signatures have been turned on.

[RhymesayersDU]

...And that is why Taco John is my hero.

[ozomulsion]

Originally Posted by RhymesayersDU

...And that is why Taco John is my hero.

Word! I feel worm and fuzzy inside.

[Ratboy]

Going through the forum.. Maybe i don't want to see the sigs.

[Ratboy]

Damn I'd hate to complain already, but Play2Win's sig is rolling off the page.

[DomCasual]

Cool, I guess. I like the size limitations.

There are two other things that I'd like to throw out there:

1) What can we do to get more smilies? I have seen other boards that have some great smilies, and lots of them. There are obviously thousands flopping around the Internet, and we have people here that could easily make them. Is it a pain to get them uploaded with the others?

2) I have seen this cool feature on other boards that I think we ought to consider. It's sort of like eBay's feedback system. It basically gives other board members the opportunity to express opinions as to whose posts they like and don't like. Each person is given a numerical score that accumulates as others leave their feedback regarding good and bad posts. It seems like it could really be a helpful thing around here.

What do you think?

[Taco John]

That's why I'm waiting until December 15 to enforce. That should give everybody enough time to get within the limits.

[DomCasual]

Originally Posted by ozomulsion

Word! I feel worm and fuzzy inside.

That's terrible. You should see a doctor about that. I heard that if you don't eat anything for awhile, then hold a piece of salami in front of your mouth, it will jump out and try and get it - which allows you to pull it the rest of the way out. That might be an urban legend, though.

[Ratboy]

Originally Posted by Taco John

That's why I'm waiting until December 15 to enforce. That should give everybody enough time to get within the limits.

I think i got used to no signatures, I dont care for them as much as i thought.

I like the disable button for it, but yet others can still see yours.

Thanks, TJ.

[OrangeShadow]

TJ's Dah man!

[GreatBronco16]

Great, now later on tonight, I'll have to make me a good sig. Thanks TJ, you da man!!

[REB]

Does this look like it's within the size limit with smilies combined?

[ozomulsion]

Originally Posted by REB

Does this look like it's within the size limit with smilies combined?

Right click on the image, then click on properties, compare to the rules.

[REB]

Thanx ozo. Yeah it seems to be ok.

[Play2win]

Good Call. Perfectly said.

-Fixed my Sig, guess it was still there from MONTHS ago...

[ludo21]

now all i need is somone to make me a sweet sig.

With Fox, and DW of course.

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by REB

Does this look like it's within the size limit with smilies combined?

No. That would not fit within either of the two options.


Edit: It does now...

[Northman]

Tj is the man!

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by Anubis

Tj is the man!

If I'm the man, you're the man. Just look at that sig! Nicely done!

[DomCasual]

Okay, so do they show up on every post you've ever done, or just the new ones posted after you upload your signature. I uploaded mine, so if it's not visible, then I did something wrong.

So this is basically a test. Move along - nothing to see here.

[DomCasual]

Cool.

[Taco John]

I should note that anything over six lines of text is over 100 pixels high.

[DomCasual]

Originally Posted by DomCasual

2) I have seen this cool feature on other boards that I think we ought to consider. It's sort of like eBay's feedback system. It basically gives other board members the opportunity to express opinions as to whose posts they like and don't like. Each person is given a numerical score that accumulates as others leave their feedback regarding good and bad posts. It seems like it could really be a helpful thing around here.

I can't believe nobody pointed out what a dumbass I was for this. I tried to make it sound so innocent!

I would like more damn smilies, though. Taco, is this a possibility, or should I just let my dreams be dashed?

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by DomCasual

I can't believe nobody pointed out what a dumbass I was for this. I tried to make it sound so innocent!

I would like more damn smilies, though. Taco, is this a possibility, or should I just let my dreams be dashed?

Heh. I got a good laugh out of it... Good idea on the smilies. Maybe someone should start a smilies thread in the photoshop forum.

[Taco John]

There. I added a thread about smilies in the Photoshop forum.