Signature suggestion.

• Rydian wrote on 2012-01-08 14:05
  I suppose this might be better suited for when the new forum system comes into place, but I'd like to toss the idea out there beforehand to see how well it's taken...
  
  Could signatures be changed to only show up on a user's final post per page?
  
  Here's an example of what I mean...
  This is what a page in a thread looks like now.
  This is what it would look like with the redundant signatures removed.
  
  This will save visual room, perhaps allowing more posts per page since less space is wasted by redundant signatures... as well as reduce the annoyance of some of the borderline-larger signatures (where the space used is more visually disrupting to the flow of conversation).
  
  Again since it'd per per-page each page of a thread a user posted in will display their signature on the last post (chronologically), so it's not like it would hide signatures, just stop them from being displayed redundantly within a single page.
• Cheerios wrote on 2012-01-08 15:16
  [Image: http://puu.sh/cMSv]

  
  if you don't like to see signatures
  
  what you're suggesting is really a 1st on any forums, i don't see how its possible within vbulletin either
• Rydian wrote on 2012-01-08 16:31
  This topic is about redundant signatures, not signatures in general.
  
  Gaia, for one, does it, and has done it for years (mainly for visual size issues since they have a relatively-large signature limits).
  
  Many things this forum does already aren't native to the base software (and it's changing anyways).
• Cannibal wrote on 2012-01-08 16:50
  Signatures disrupt the flow of conversation? Lol... that's a pretty short attention span you have there.
  
  Also, if you want more posts on a page,
  

  [Image: http://i.imgur.com/jcKAY.png.]

  
  change that.
• Rydian wrote on 2012-01-08 17:52
  I would appreciate it if we could talk about the forum software/layout without the putdowns, thank you.
  
  As far as disrupting the flow of conversation, I'm talking visually. Signatures are visual breaks in the flow of related posts, removing redundant breaks makes threads feel more coherent. [SIZE="1"]And yes, advertisements are also breaks, but those have a more important function and are often visually smaller than signatures anyways, I'm not going to suggest those be removed/changed.[/SIZE]
  
  I'm aware that more posts can be set to be shown on a single page, but in the majority of cases that also adds more redundant signatures. If signatures were not redundant then the addition of more posts per page could be made without, on average, increasing the actual vertical distance a page of a thread takes up.
  
  Not everybody browses the forums from a desktop or large laptop. Smaller laptops are common and even ones with lower-end GPUs (for playing MMOs like Mabi/Vind) tend to have relatively low resolutions... and given the rise of netbooks, tablets, and smartphones it can't always be assumed that people are browsing the site from a device with plenty of screen space to spare.
  
  I see no downside (as stated, signatures will still be displayed one per user per page) and multiple possible upsides regarding upcoming browsing habits. As it's been stated that the forum is going to be undergoing a major/software change in the future and the admin has stated changing plans for it, I felt it's a good time to bring up a layout discussion.
  
  I have nothing against signatures and the limits in-place for the ones here are fine, it's the redundancy causing an overuse of vertical real estate that's I feel could be addressed.
• Kingofrunes wrote on 2012-01-09 12:45
  It could be something to think about, especially if we want to make a mobile version of mabination. Do we get enough mobile traffic Osay to warrent this? Maybe I'll make a separate thread about it.
  
  Interesting idea. It's not something I've come across but I wouldn't mind it.
• Zid wrote on 2012-01-09 16:27
  As an option, sure.
  
  I, for one, like these "redundant signatures" that are "visually disrupting".
• Rydian wrote on 2012-01-09 16:57
  Do you think I want signatures removed?
• Zid wrote on 2012-01-09 17:09

  Quote from Rydian;729664:

  Do you think I want signatures removed?

  
  
  No, I don't. I see your point and can relate to it (especially with huge signatures).
  
  But like I said, I prefer it as an option, because I like it the current way as it is (maybe more height would have been nice, but I'm not going to push it).
• Elena wrote on 2012-01-09 18:35
  The only way I see signatures being redundant is if a person double-posts and their signature shows up twice, in which case, if a person wants to post without having their signatures disrupt the flow, they can uncheck this:
  

  [Image: http://puu.sh/cTJ3]

  
  
  Since double-posting isn't really that common, nor should it be,I don't really see the problem here .
• Skye wrote on 2012-01-09 18:54
  I feel like if this is ever introduced, it should be a personal option.
  Like Zid, I like the signatures, and they've never been disruptive for me. You learn to scroll past them.
• Rydian wrote on 2012-01-09 22:50

  Quote from Elena;729713:

  The only way I see signatures being redundant is if a person double-posts and their signature shows up twice, in which case, if a person wants to post without having their signatures disrupt the flow, they can uncheck this:
  

  [Image: http://puu.sh/cTJ3]

  
  
  Since double-posting isn't really that common, nor should it be,I don't really see the problem here .

  There was no double posting in the example thread, but the height of the thread still went down a nice amount... and this was with relatively short signatures (mine's only a third of the limit, the other person's is 2/3rds). In threads where somebody with a 300px tall signature posts three times on one page (which is fairly common), that translates to a 600px shorter thread, just for their posts.
  
  

  Quote from Skye;729725:

  I feel like if this is ever introduced, it should be a personal option.
  Like Zid, I like the signatures, and they've never been disruptive for me. You learn to scroll past them.

  Scrolling past them repeatedly on each post is likely to be tiring on even a 7-inch tablet, nevermind a smart phone. Making the site more accessible to people can encourage more users. A personal option would be great, those that browse on lower-resolution devices can set it then if needed.
• Osayidan wrote on 2012-01-09 23:34
  If the concern is for mobile devices, I don't plan on having signatures in the mobile theme once I get to that point.
• Rydian wrote on 2012-01-09 23:45
  Mobile isn't the full concern as there's small devices out there that don't need to resort to mobile themes in order to browse a site efficiently (like smaller tablets and such), given the increasing focus on ARM power.
• RebeccaBlack wrote on 2012-01-10 05:17
  After seeing this on Gaia for so long, I do like it quite a bit. Really, we don't need to see the same signature 5 times on a page.