Bitcoin Forum

Hey Mods,

The signature spamming is getting out of control on the forum.

I don't understand why images in signatures aren't simply forbidden.

This should be in "meta" by the way.

Not that big of a deal..

I agree, I vote for disable images in signatures.
* This will also save bandwidth when I surf on my iphone^^.
* Faster page loading time
* Less distraction when reading, which result faster reading.

instead of banning outright, why not just keep tem to a reasonable size like 468 by 60.

Maybe I LIKE to see them (I don't particularly).  But who are you to decide for me what I want to see?

Just go into your profile and set "Don't show users' signatures." to on, that's simple...

I have no problem with text signatures. They can even be useful. Banners should go, though. They just get in the way of the (already meagre) content.

I see a 'Ignore Boards' link... maybe if there was an 'ignore users' link I could just add people that (so rudely) use giant signature images.

i like to see people's signatures, just not the in-your-face ones.

I agree
I actually didn't realize it was annoying until now.

Huh? How do you feel about Youtube, Hulu, Television, Yahoo, Google, Magazines, etc. At least sig's don't make you wait to view what you came to see.

Better, Stronger:
http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/9435/signaturespammingisouto.png

FASTER.
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/6225/screenzhy.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/29/screenzhy.png/)

Although I haven't figured out how to log in via links/lynx

I don't understand why I can't turn this shit off like I can on most every other forum

and how in the hell does this not belong in the meta subforum¿¿¿

^ Problem is, that hides ALL signatures. I'm guessing he only wants to hide images.

Me, I don't mind banners at all. They're not that distracting. You guys could always try using AdBlock, and manually block all the banners that annoy you.

valid point.

sometimes I do want to see sigs, like when someone says: "look in my sig." xD

that didn't used to be there

No, the point is that you have a personal preference that you feel everyone else should be forced to adhere to.

I'm not exactly sure if the other themes provide it.
a lot of stuff is more or less hidden from view with the other themes.

I don't feel it is spam in any way. I think it's a good thing Bitcoin businesses have a good way of advertising their services and goods for free.

A compromise would be to either:

1. Add an option to disable images in signatures. Default off.
2. Only show a user's signature once per page in a thread. For example if someone makes three posts on one page, only the first post on that page will have his signature in it. I've seen some forums implement this, and it works rather well.

This works great on other forums I belong to.

It would allow the advertising of bitcoin related businesses/sites, but not  inundate threads with them.

How about using the correct forum (meta) to complain.

Complaints about specific signatures can be directed toward theymos. Also, this should be moved to Meta...

It goes both ways. This is like cigarette smokers complaining that non-smokers are restricting their freedom. Or those in a small area who believe it is their right to turn on the radio, TV, while someone else is, for example reading. I prefer the scenary but my eyes read every damn billboard and road sign. Perhaps I am abnormally distractable or have a lower tolerance or a greater value to my own mind-space.  I personally dislike the majority of visual advertising and am willing to sacrifice the forest for the trees. Anyway, the OPTION to disable images is a nice compromise.

interesting choice of words.  i was under the impression that these were advertisements, not spam.  and, as has been pointed out, they can be turned off in your forum settings.

i have no banners, nor am i ever likely to - but honestly, i find the increasing use of them to be indicative of the health of Bitcoin.  the more of them there are - presumably mostly paid for in some way - the more satisfied i am with Bitcoin's adoption and eventual acceptance into the mainstream.

surely you couldn't object to that?

The signatures don't really bother me.

The only thing i've adblocked here is some ones avatar.. just couldn't stand to look at it anymore.

BTW thanks for noting the options to turn off sigs.

let me guess...

the little insect that crawls around?  :D

Agree that images do not belong in signatures, and they should be limited to max 3 lines of text or something...

If your opinion was in the majority, the option to place images in sigs would not be available. Think about it.

That is exactly what I was thinking.

I find everyones signatures pretty interesting.

The signatures, especially in this forum, are important. This forum is #1 place for all newbies of the bitcoin community. Hiding all shops/deals/whatever in some subforum is a bad idea. The average internet users are lazy, don't expect them browse through subforums. To get the bitcoin economy going, signatures(even the ones with images) are important and needed to advertise. Maybe limit the image height and forbid .gifs, but please don't ban signatures.
Anyone who feels annoyed by them can easily hide them in their profile settings:

Profile -> Look and Layout Preferences -> Don't show users' signatures.

^ Exactly.

I meant to mention this earlier. I've discovered a lot of new services via peoples signatures. I'm sure many others have too. I wouldn't have discovered 1/2 of them w/out the signatures. Obviously there needs to be a limit on size/etc. I've seen other forums that allow much larger images and that really does cross a line. The margins allowed here seem fine.

ALL of this being said the forum does need one more thing. That's a portal page. (maybe there is one & i just don't know of it?) It's annoying to have to go to <x> divisions of the forum to see what/if/any new posts there are in whichever threads. With the amount of moving of threads going on, this is needed desperately. I lose track of moved threads (that may still be getting posts) pretty much every day.

I cannot agree more with these two guys above me.
Gonna put my image for btcbalance.net back on its place.

I also discovered a lot of useful services with signature banner / text. I think that advertising has become a very great way to learn about interesting services involving bitcoins. It take like 1 second reading them and if you're not interested you continue to browse the thread otherwise you click on them and see if the service fit for you.

I don't think at all this is annoying, not saying that because of my sig, but I agree that if people don't wanna see them it should have an option to disable images in signature.

your sig is perfect... perfectly clear and visible without being a huge in-your-face display.

again, my preference would be to have an 'ignore users' option, that'll fix 'em.

This already exists; it's right at the top of your screen! Now it's perhaps not as useful as you might think, since this forum gets MANY MORE POSTS than most other forums. But it is there.

Seriously? There are too many colors, it's hurting my eyes (in a huckleberry hound voice). I find asinine threads to detract from the experience much more than any banner in someone's sig.

lame appeal to an authority figure to enforce your preferences on the community.

You can use ad block for specific banners you find offensive, get over it.

This has got to go down for an entry in to the legit "Championship Necro Threading" catagory.

This thread clearly shows signature spamming was an issue 3+ years ago and still is today but at least it is a little better these days. Believe it or not, Sig Spamming was actually worse back then. You could pretty much put anything you wanted in sigs back then.

Hopefully in three years this thread will not *still* be relevant.


~BCX~

The change to activity worked well to cut out a lot of the spam. Another change might be needed now.
Others can help by reporting to moderators when they see spam posts.

seems like theres alot less spamming now that PD cut alot of the members off

There are others now. Dicebitcoin has a high pay per post. Cryptcominer wants 20 per week and has enrolled a lot of members.

Am I the only one that sees the irony in BTX Necroing a thread about sig spamming that he started? There is less sig spamming, but it seems to be replaced with newbie spamming and spamming by (likely) the same members who used to have a PD signature.