If the signature campaings are removed from the forum, will you stay or leave?

[Wiwo]

I just got in why should I leave if signature campaigns are removed from the forum, I have spent less than six months in the forum and planning to stay here for as long as possible to learn all that I need to. My activities such as posting habits may reduce but I will stay active on the forum without signature.

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[RickDeckard]

Voted: I don't care about signaures (I didn't saw the option "I will stay, No change." -> seems like I'm also somewhat blind. My apologizes)

In my 502 (+1) posts, I never participated in any signature campaign. Most reasons I've talked about in the past - can't really be sure which post was it - but they boil down to some factors:

• My posting activity, depending on the days/week, may not reach 20/25 posts per week (most campaigns have their threshold somewhere around these quantities);
• I don't feel comfortable in taking part in campaigns that "make" me post in particular sections of the forum - such as Gambling. The reason is simple - I don't have any particular interest on the topic and I also don't think I'll be able to contribute in any positive way there.

This is not to say that I won't, in the future, try to join a campaign that doesn't have these requirements, but I just wanted to highlight that signature campaigns, by themselves, are not the driver for my presence here. I've seen very informative threads ever since I became more active here and I think I managed to interact in a positive way with some members whose presence is very well known to us. Those are two things that I will try my best to continue to experience as the years go by, or as long as I possibly can contribute to the forum. I reckon I'm not the most "tech" guy around here, neither the most literate regarding blockchain technology, but I've got a deep interesting in learning and continuous self improvement and whenever I see some discussion that I think I can add something worth of discussion - or help - I'll just post it, whether that post is being paid or not.

I would really like to say that in 10 years from now I've made really good friends here and that I've had incredible discussions in it (I reckon I'll also learn a lot on the process), but I'll leave that to the future... Do note that I'm fully aware that campaigns are a really good way for someone users - especially in a less developed world - have an upper advantage regarding their currency, and that is incredible! I'm just saying that, to me, there are other things that also have to be considered...

And that's just one consideration; I think this place would look completely different if campaigns and bounties were suddenly outlawed.  It was an active forum prior to the first campaign, but I think that was due to bitcoin being a very new thing.  Now that it's matured quite a bit and given the fact that many members are here just to participate in bounties/campaigns, I'd expect bitcointalk to become almost a ghost town.  Hopefully that won't be tested anytime soon.

Ranking system/achievements are some interesting concepts who end up triggering interesting sides of the human spirit. Take at look at PSN/Xbox achievements - they are just a bunch of internet points, that hold no value - other than show your commitment to fully explore games - and yet ever since Xbox implemented the system (back from the days of Xbox360 around 2005) thousands of people try to get as many as they can. And for what? As far as I know there aren't any special rewards or tiers, they just keep pilling up. And yet, people do it and will surely continue to do it because they are proof that they endured a certain path/challenge. I see a ranking system in a similar way - while most users wouldn't bother to climb the ladder considering there wouldn't be no benefit in doing so, some of them really want to say that they've achieved X ranking in Y platform just because. Granted, some places do have some perks for each user class - for example dedicated sections of the forum - but I really think that just having ranks would make some users fight for them, despite not having a prize at the end of the climb. I guess reckoning would be the "final prize"...

[BobLawblaw]

Sig spammers are a scourge on these forums, and they can't all die in a fire soon enough.

[Rikafip]

I haven't joined for signature campaigns and for sure wouldn't leave this forum because of them. Beside this one, I am active on several other forums for ~20 years, wrote tens of thousands of free posts so I would continue to do the same, but I would probably post less, whether I want it or not.

I am aware of the fact that every forum has very active members who will write no matter what, but those are few and far between. Thing is, majority of people would have to reduce their posting frequency simply because if you remove all posts&threads made by those that are here only because of the money, there would be less posts to answer to. In order to be very active, you need other people and if you don't have that, what to do other than post less.

Let's say they stop allowing signatures, what would be the backlash of that? Well for starters, forum traffic drops by 90%. That means forum ads lose their appeal to businesses. Also leading to no income for the forum, ultimately leading to the forum closing down after a period of time. That's what I think would happen anyways. There will be a few happy members of course, but there will be no reason to keep the forum open for the 100 or so users left.

Yep, nicely summed up. As much as we all hate sig spammers, signature campaigns pros simply outweigh the cons. Theymos and other forum staff are aware of that so I am pretty certain that signature campaigns are not going anywhere, at least not in the foreseeable future.

The issue IMO is the poor quality of the posters in these campaigns. That's really on the manager. If you have a poor quality poster, then remove them and let someone worthy take their place. I have been guilty of letting douchebags in a campaign because I had a large number of open spots, so maybe I have no room to talk but I can acknowledge the problem and do my part in fixing it.

When it comes to replacing shitty posters with better ones, I don't think that you or any other manager can do much about it (unless you increase rate), because there are simply not enough quality members to fill the need of all ongoing signature campaigns, let alone new ones. So even if you want to replace shitposter, most likely you will end up getting the same thing. At the moment, every decent member that wants to be in signature campaign is already part of one (except during that short period when some good campaigns ends so they have to look for another one).

What managers could do though is for example is not set the fixed amount of posts that participants have to make or at least make low minimum requirement so people are not forced to write anything when they don't feel like/don't have time as forced posting in majority of cases leads to redundant posts and that's something that we don't lack of here on bitcointalk.

Another solution is for managers to say to their potential clients that unless they wan't to fill signature campaign with spammers and shitposters, they will have to pay way more than average campaign is paying at the moment (50-60 USD) or have very attractive rules. I might be wrong with my assumption, but somehow I think that doesn't happen often.

[donatien]

I'll stay and try to be more active than before. Signature campaigns have brought in lots of bad practices, one of them being buying and selling accounts which is really sad. I am here to educate myself and I get to learn a lots of new things related to cryptocurrencies from learned members like you.

[tertius993]

Sig spammers are a scourge on these forums, and they can't all die in a fire soon enough.

This, I'd be delighted to see them go.

I voted "Stay, no change" but would have preferred a "Stay, will contribute more" option.  The overall standard of posting is absolutely risible - you can absolutely guarantee that any rambling, illogical, impenetrable post, repeating what's been said before or ignoring the question entirely will have a paid sig underneath it - anything that could improve that would be great.

[UserU]

Personally, I didn't join the forum to make money, but it ended up turning into that. I attribute being so well known on this forum because of campaigns. I don't feel like I would visit the forum much if signature campaigns went away even though I don't manage them much any longer. I do have a pretty decent income from wearing a signature though.

I find nothing wrong with users making money here. Hell, the admins are making a pretty penny weekly on advertising. Why would they ever want to try and cut out the smaller guy?

Let's say they stop allowing signatures, what would be the backlash of that? Well for starters, forum traffic drops by 90%. That means forum ads lose their appeal to businesses. Also leading to no income for the forum, ultimately leading to the forum closing down after a period of time. That's what I think would happen anyways. There will be a few happy members of course, but there will be no reason to keep the forum open for the 100 or so users left.

 The issue IMO is the poor quality of the posters in these campaigns. That's really on the manager. If you have a poor quality poster, then remove them and let someone worthy take their place. I have been guilty of letting douchebags in a campaign because I had a large number of open spots, so maybe I have no room to talk but I can acknowledge the problem and do my part in fixing it.

This, finally someone with an unpopular opinion. Can imagine an average Joe mentioning that and getting shat on.

Like it or not, signature campaigns are a win-win situation. Advertisers get their traffic and customers, posters get their funds for their expenses. That's how marketing works; volumes to keep the site alive. Solely discussing Bitcoin and technology won't pay the bills, unless they have a ton of wealth to begin with.

Even without them, shitposters still exist the moment there's some sort of monetization opportunity.

[hugeblack]

The answer to this question will be different from one user to another, but the forum in general give us a good answer as boards like serious discussions give an impression of what the forum would be like if the signature campaigns were stopped as a whole.

Generally, it is something that will happen sooner or later either because of the low return, or the difficulty of participating in one of the good campaigns, or the suspension of the campaigns by the administration, so the person should start posting for knowledge and learning.

Personally, I will stay, but the posting rate will be about 7-12 per week.

[The Cryptovator]

I wasn't familiar with the signature campaign during join in the forum. But yes, I was aware of the bounty campaign and I wasn't interested in bounty. At the beginning of joining the cryptocurrency world, I invested in a few initial coin offerings and I just follow and search forum in the project. You know every project has been using forum announcements links. So there shouldn't be a question to leave the forum whether the signature campaign exists or not. But I will be honest, post quantity would reduce as we know there is the weekly quota. But I love this forum and I do not intend to leave it.

I indeed earning a handsome amount from a campaign or managing signature campaign which has been encouraging me to research more to make more posts. Because to make a post I need to understand what I am writing and research for a proper answer or reply. So I believe the number of posts all over the forum would reduce significantly upon banning the signature campaign. Users would move somewhere else where they would find an earning source like this.

[DaveF]

For me it comes down to I like it here, I spend time here, so if I am able to make some BTC why not.
If all signature campaigns went away tomorrow I would really not change my habits.

I would like to think that most of the longer term higher ranking members would not really change their habits or if they do change it would not be that much.

-Dave

[LFC_Bitcoin]

I’d stay for sure, this is one of the very best places for information & general bitcoin discussion. I’ve met around 10 people in real life from the Wall Observer & become genuine friends. I’m very glad I found this forum, I would definitely stay here if signature campaigns were removed.

At the moment we have the best of both worlds though

[UmerIdrees]

I won't leave the forum either because I am addicted to it. There are one or two sections of the forum where I post a lot due to my interest and I will continue doing that.

Personally, I didn't join the forum to make money, but it ended up turning into that. I attribute being so well known on this forum because of campaigns. I don't feel like I would visit the forum much if signature campaigns went away even though I don't manage them much any longer. I do have a pretty decent income from wearing a signature though.

I find nothing wrong with users making money here. Hell, the admins are making a pretty penny weekly on advertising. Why would they ever want to try and cut out the smaller guy?

Let's say they stop allowing signatures, what would be the backlash of that? Well for starters, forum traffic drops by 90%. That means forum ads lose their appeal to businesses. Also leading to no income for the forum, ultimately leading to the forum closing down after a period of time. That's what I think would happen anyways. There will be a few happy members of course, but there will be no reason to keep the forum open for the 100 or so users left.

Perhaps the most honest answer. Even I believe that those 100 people who want the forum to be signature-free, won't be as active as they are while wearing the signature.
There are still few (as I know)  who do not wear signatures even though they can easily wear and get accepted everywhere. They are the real ones who would like the signature free forum.

[Welsh]

First of all, I quite like the idea that I can earn some money on the side while doing something that I intended on doing anyway, because I enjoy it. I probably posted a lot more when I wasn't in a signature campaign years ago, naturally I've become a little more busy as time progresses, and you could probably say I've matured a little more, and aren't quite as excited as I was before to get involved in discussions.

Though, I still have a passion for the forum unlike any other I've encountered. Some might think that the moderator position effects my attitude towards signature campaigns, but I don't think so. I love the mod position, and I also love earning while doing something I would do anyway; post. I think it's natural at times to be more motivated to post when your earning from it, I won't deny that's obviously a motivation for a lot of users, but if the content is good, I say let it be, and not worry too much about the motivation behind it.

 I literally don't participate in any other forum, and I think that speaks a lot for the quality of content available here. Yeah, the forum has its problems, but what doesn't have its problems these days. Bitcoin something we're all here for, has its problems.

I'm also someone that struggles to pick up new habits, for example I've been introduced to several other ways of communicating about Bitcoin, and other interests, but they never really stick. The forum has, and I'm going on eight years now since I've registered. I definitely haven't been in a signature campaign for that amount of time, so yeah I would definitely be still here.

Although, I do concede that this forum would likely lose a lot of traffic, and I have no way of verifying that, but it does seem a lot of users come here with the prospect of making money either through altcoins or through Bitcoin signature campaigns, which I'm totally fine with.

There are still few (as I know)  who do not wear signatures even though they can easily wear and get accepted everywhere. They are the real ones who would like the signature free forum.

I think there's likely quite a few users here who would prefer a signature free forum, but while its not they might as well earn a little something on the side. I don't really have too many complaints about users using it like this.

[UserU]

I think there's likely quite a few users here who would prefer a signature free forum, but while its not they might as well earn a little something on the side. I don't really have too many complaints about users using it like this.

Times have changed, and more people are in need of funds so the demand for advertising never waned. In fact, signature campaigns have contributed in paying off some of my loans and I'm quite thankful for them.

On a side note, I'm using a browser that pays for displaying ads so I don't really mind them as well.

[Peanutswar]

This forum is not only because of the signature campaign, but it also helps me a lot of information and I enjoy those learnings its more worthy than the earnings. Looks like earnings is just a side tip of the knowledge we gain so I will stay here and continue exploring more things related to the crypto world its more updated here than reading a lot of news and also the community helps each other to exchange ideas, opinions, and thoughts than just reading a single article without prior knowledge if this is a reliable or there's small mistaken information.

[libert19]

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This, finally someone with an unpopular opinion. Can imagine an average Joe mentioning that and getting shat on.

Like it or not, signature campaigns are a win-win situation. Advertisers get their traffic and customers, posters get their funds for their expenses. That's how marketing works; volumes to keep the site alive. Solely discussing Bitcoin and technology won't pay the bills, unless they have a ton of wealth to begin with.

Even without them, shitposters still exist the moment there's some sort of monetization opportunity.

I think there are plenty who have similar opinion, but they prefer to stay silent to avoid getting shat on  

[suchmoon]

This looks like a honeypot. I'm sure everyone who chose the first option will be banned, and everyone who chose the second option will be red-trusted for being dishonest.

I think I'm posting about as much now as I did before I joined the campaign, and I'd stay if all campaigns disappeared. But that would very different than not joining a campaign voluntarily, i.e. I'd probably participate less for reasons pointed out by Rikafip above... fewer shitheads to argue with etc.

However I don't think this would bring the end of the forum (I mean the disappearance of signatures, not me arguing with fewer shitheads). The forum will end with or without signatures. It will end because it's the RadioShack of social media. Average tubetwit person doesn't have the attention span for it. Nor do they want to read.

[NotATether]

Sig spammers are a scourge on these forums, and they can't all die in a fire soon enough.

This, I'd be delighted to see them go.

I voted "Stay, no change" but would have preferred a "Stay, will contribute more" option.  The overall standard of posting is absolutely risible - you can absolutely guarantee that any rambling, illogical, impenetrable post, repeating what's been said before or ignoring the question entirely will have a paid sig underneath it - anything that could improve that would be great.

Tell me about it.

It's hard to have a reasonable discussion about any gambling topic because of the swarm of posters babbling about things I've read dozens of times by now just to fill the gambling dig quota.

[tertius993]

This looks like a honeypot. I'm sure everyone who chose the first option will be banned, and everyone who chose the second option will be red-trusted for being dishonest.

Why?  I voted for the second option and I’ve never been part of a signature campaign and can’t see any circumstance in which I would.

[dkbit98]

I never joined the forum to earn but to learn something new, and I never chased any signature campaigns.
You never know what tomorrow may bring but I can imagine many different scenarios than would force me to leave the forum and none of them are for signature reasons.
If you don't see me in bitcointalk forum for a long time, with or without signature, know that I am either dead, or forced to retire and live in some hidden mountain cabin without internet connection.

PS
Can anyone theymos please allow poor LoyceV to edit his Poll vote that he will leave the forum without signature, it was an honest mistake  
It's messing up all the stats showing that 8% would leave the forum without precious signatures, plus 4% of bounty hunters that would probably join them.