Signatures

[Brother Tyler]

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SIGNATURES

Signatures may include images up to 990 pixels in width by up to 100 pixels in height and up to ten lines of text. See below for details on both.

 

 

INTENT

Minimize

“signal to noise” so that members can focus on the content (posts/replies, the “signal”) while still allowing members a degree of freedom to express their individuality, primary personal links, etc. (signature, the “noise”).

This update primarily focuses on the rules for images in signatures while clarifying other elements of signatures.

Members are encouraged to use their “About Me” page for more personal expression, allowing them to reduce signature content.
 

SIGNATURE CONTENT

The standard “family-friendly” rules for B&C content apply, though image content is not restricted to B&C content (i.e., you may include non-WH40K stuff in your images). In addition, your signature is an acceptable place to “advertise” (Internet auction sites, stuff you’re selling/looking for (as long as the stuff is WH40K stuff), etc.). Exercise common sense.
 

TEXT

Your signature may include up to ten lines of normal size text. Normal size text is the default font size or smaller. If you use larger text (anything size 4 (14 points) or larger), the line count decreases correspondingly. You can see the relative font sizes here.
 

IMAGES

The total area of images as they appear on the screen* is up to 990 pixels in width by up to 100 pixels in height.

Examples:

A single image 990x100 would appear as:



Alternately, you may have multiple images separated vertically by text:


Thought for the day: Obey your orders.


Alternately, you may have multiple images separated horizontally by text:
 

IMPORTANT!

The “total image display area” of 990 pixels in width by 100 pixels in height includes any text and negative space that separates images. So everything within the rectangular area of all images in your signatures counts.

 

So while you may have two 495x100 images displayed side by side and immediately adjacent to each other, as…



…you may not have the same images separated horizontally by text, as…

Oops! This is too wide. Images are "soft returned" and create additional image height.

…and while you may have two 990x50 images displayed top/bottom and immediately adjacent to each other, as…




..you may not have the same images separated vertically by text, as…


Oops! This is too tall.

 

AND ANOTHER THING

 

Certain elements of BBCodes count as images for the purpose of these rules. These include background color, captions, headers (both full and half), hidden content, quotes, sidebars, spoilers. The reason for this is that these BBCodes, while generally applying to text, create image-like content in the signature. Note that by quotes we mean only the quote BBCode – you may quote someone as pure text without it counting as an image. Also note that hidden content and spoilers will be evaluated when clicked/open.

 

NON-COMPLIANCE

If your signature is found to be non-compliant with these rules, you may receive a PM from a moderator. If no action is taken, or if the admins catch it, we will simply enclose it in the code tags and a note that the signature is non-compliant, as:

Signature non-compliant with B&C rules

[img=http://image.bolterandchainsword.com/uploads/gallery/album_548/gallery_26_548_1007.gif]
[color=red]Oops! This is too tall.[/color]
[img=http://image.bolterandchainsword.com/uploads/gallery/album_548/gallery_26_548_941.gif]

We used to make adjustments to signatures and/or send messages identifying non-compliance and recommended corrective action, but there were so many non-compliant signatures that this became a chore that took up way too much time (taking away from our time to enjoy the site). So the expectation is that you will check these rules and adjust your signature accordingly. If you find your signature in the spoiler tags and are unable to identify the problem after reviewing these rules, feel free to contact one of the administrators (Brother Tyler is usually the signature enforcer) and ask for clarification.

Note that we don’t generally apply warnings for signature non-compliance with regard to image dimensions and text, but repeated violations may earn you a warning point (you’ll receive a message if this happens, so don’t worry about it if you don’t see anything other than the spoiler tags). Warnings may be issued if your content violates the forum rules, however.

If you see a member whose signature appears to be non-compliant with these rules, be a pal and send them a PM letting them know. Be polite and friendly – your goal is to help them avoid the angst of dealing with the mods/admins. Such communications should come across as, “You may want to fix this before the mods/admins notice” (and not “fix this or I’ll report you to the mods/admins”). This should be one friend hooking another friend up, not tin badge moderation. Alternately, you can report the member with a note that their signature doesn’t comply with the forum rules (or if the member doesn’t fix the signature). The mods/admins will take it from there.

It should be noted that members that don't desire to view signatures have that option in their settings.

* Using a “lowest common denominator” concept, our signature rules are based on a web standard screen resolution of 1366x768 (it is assumed that mobile device users are using the mobile skin, which doesn’t display signatures).