Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
images in signiture(opinion wanted) — Parallax Forums

images in signiture(opinion wanted)

mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
edited 2010-04-19 19:08 in General Discussion
It has come to my atention my signature may be against rules and or hurting people.

I took every step I could think of to keep small so not sure why it would hurt.

Is it against rules. Would like to know what others think

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.

Post Edited (mctrivia) : 4/16/2010 5:19:11 PM GMT
«1

Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2010-04-16 15:49
    From the Forum Guidelines:
    9. Signature Line Graphics. Graphical banners or other pictures in the signature line are not allowed. The allowed avatar size was increased and you should feel free to use an avatar. Please try not to make your avatar too flashy as other members can find this distracting when reading posts.

    10. Commercial Posts. If you offer a product for sale on our forums do so with discretion. Don't try to sell a car on our forums, but if you offer a product of interest to our forum members you may provide contact information so other users may contact you to make a purchase. The kinds of products that fit may include development boards, microcontroller products, sensors and related applications. Again, choose the best forum to make your post.

    Personally, I think that listing specific items for sale as part of your signature is not discrete. What you're posting in your signature is not just contact information or a general description of what you deal in, it's detailed sales information. Whether what you've posted is strictly against the rules or not, I think you've exceeded the spirit of the rules (guidelines).
  • VaatiVaati Posts: 712
    edited 2010-04-16 16:59
    There are images in your signature? I never saw any...

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    MCU Projects·- my new site where I will be posting all projects, code, etc.

    Quit buying all those fixed voltage regulators, and·get an Adjustable Power Supply·for your projects!· Includes an LED testing terminal!

    SD Card Adapter·- Add extra memory to your next Propeller project with ease!
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-04-16 17:16
    you don't see it because the image is made to look like plain text. It is the only way to put dynamic data in a signature.

    Mike I think 9 does not apply since it is not a graphic. It is an image of text.

    10 on the other hand I see your point though it is not in any way obvious. I am not selling a car. I am selling products directly related to parallax. My reasons for listing my stock was not to get more customers. It is because I am so small I often have little stock in and this way people can see without leaving the forum if I have what they want.

    I am not entirely sure if it is exceeding the spirit of the guidline. I would love to here what others think though. In consideration I will remove the image from future posts.


    So everyone else especially moderators:

    *Is an image of text an allowable way to put dynamic data into a signature. Especially if the data by many is not even noticed to be a picture.
    *Is it ok to list specific products you have for sale and what they cost in a signature if they are related to parallax products?

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2010-04-16 17:18
    mctrivia,

    I noticed your signature line a few days ago. I didn't say anything for two reasons...

    1) We're so close to switching to the new forum software that I figured it would be a non-issue before anyone complained.

    2) The new forum software includes the ability to limit or prevent the use of signature line graphics. I am unclear as to whether they will be allowed on the new forums. I deally we'd like to let you all have more freedom in this community. However, the reason the rule was put in place is that we got complaints because some members were going with even bigger graphics and animated graphics and that really bothered some members (understandably).

    Again, vBulletin allows us to disallow the graphics altogether (so no need for the rule) or to limit the size and whether they can be animated. So we may see if it becomes a problem again at that time. Again, I am not sure what we're doing. But, by using one now, if someone else notices they may add one and then we start again.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Chris Savage

    Parallax Engineering
    ·
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2010-04-16 17:28
    mctrivia said...(trimmed)
    *Is an image of text an allowable way to put dynamic data into a signature. Especially if the data by many is not even noticed to be a picture.
    *Is it ok to list specific products you have for sale and what they cost in a signature if they are related to parallax products?
    For your first question please see my previous post.· On the second one, Ken Gracey very graciously allowed for any developers using our products to advertise their products within their signature lines or by post as long as the posting did not constitute spamming (cross-posting and posting constantly).· We want to encourage members to take interest in what others have developed as well as our products.· The advertising part of the message was not in issue.· smilewinkgrin.gif

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Chris Savage

    Parallax Engineering
    ·
  • hover1hover1 Posts: 1,929
    edited 2010-04-16 17:41
    Ya just gotta love Parallax!
    Jim
    Chris Savage (Parallax) said...
    · We want to encourage members to take interest in what others have developed as well as our products.· The advertising part of the message was not in issue.· smilewinkgrin.gif

  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2010-04-16 17:46
    I'm sorry for the confusion everyone...as moderators it is often difficult to maintain guidelines that keep everyone happy. Things are always changing and we are always evolving with the times.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Chris Savage

    Parallax Engineering
    ·
  • sylvie369sylvie369 Posts: 1,622
    edited 2010-04-16 17:57
    Chris Savage (Parallax) said...
    mctrivia said...(trimmed)
    *Is an image of text an allowable way to put dynamic data into a signature. Especially if the data by many is not even noticed to be a picture.
    *Is it ok to list specific products you have for sale and what they cost in a signature if they are related to parallax products?
    For your first question please see my previous post.· On the second one, Ken Gracey very graciously allowed for any developers using our products to advertise their products within their signature lines or by post as long as the posting did not constitute spamming (cross-posting and posting constantly).· We want to encourage members to take interest in what others have developed as well as our products.· The advertising part of the message was not in issue.· smilewinkgrin.gif

    I want to express appreciation for that decision. It makes the forum, and in fact the Parallax products much more useful and educational.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2010-04-16 19:00
    I actually like seeing what various forum members are working on, I wish more would include a short link. If it is something that you are personally involved with, then that is interesting because it communicates something about you. However, I'm not too keen on seeing messages where the signature lines dwarf the content of the post.

    Rich H

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    The Simple Servo Tester, a kit from Gadget Gangster.
  • John R.John R. Posts: 1,376
    edited 2010-04-16 19:12
    Also keep in mind with respect to graphics, some of the issue is download time. Graphics, even "text as graphics", usually takes longer to download than text or html tokens.

    For any users still on dialup, this can be a big drag.

    Point being, it's not just the "obnoxious" factor to deal with, but also performance. Please note that I am not saying that the sig in question was obnoxious, but that some of the animated stuff gets obnoxious, regardless of how fast it downloads. [noparse][[/noparse]Insert your choice of bouncing emoticon here, preferably in a stomache curdling combination of colors.]

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    John R.
    Click here to see my Nomad Build Log
  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,261
    edited 2010-04-17 00:20
    IMHO, using the image makes your signature stand out from the others. It stands out because the font size on screen draws the eye from the usual characters present.

    (which is the point of using an image)

    I like the products being sold, traded, etc... I think it's a nice culture here. Part of that nice culture is everybody putting it out there on a level field, that isn't obtrusive --just available.

    Seems to me, plain old text, perhaps with the bold operator would be just as effective as a stand out, while staying within the lines proper.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Propeller Wiki: Share the coolness!
    8x8 color 80 Column NTSC Text Object
    Safety Tip: Life is as good as YOU think it is!
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-04-17 00:23
    The reason for the image was so my server could update the values dynamically.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2010-04-17 00:51
    My two cents: I like to see different products and to be reminded of different user's products.· Some of the products being sold take up two or three pages of threads or more in the propeller forum and that has been allowed.· It is promoting Parallax by using Parallax products.·

    I may not understand the broader issue here as I haven't been reading every post.
  • James NewmanJames Newman Posts: 133
    edited 2010-04-17 02:27
    I guess I'll throw my opinion out there.

    I feel that the sig didn't break any spirit of any rules. He isn't trying to do anything except dynamically change his sig to reflect his inventory. Download size/time is a non issue considering the amount of images already being displayed on a given forum page, and the size of the image in question in respect to that. That's a bit like saying that a post has to be under a certain amount of characters...

    I really can't believe this has even come up... seriously people, we have more important things to work on.

    My final thought is that the cold hard rule is that images are disallowed. That's pretty simple, and it keeps people from abusing images, aswell as people from whining. [noparse];)[/noparse]
  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,261
    edited 2010-04-17 17:04
    @Mctrivia: Clever!

    It's a bit more work, but you could use PERL to update your profile, just like you would. Just a thought, depending on how this image thing goes. I'm neutral on it, personally knowing what you want to do.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Propeller Wiki: Share the coolness!
    8x8 color 80 Column NTSC Text Object
    Safety Tip: Life is as good as YOU think it is!
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-04-17 17:29
    I have the php code already writen to spider the forum and edit every post I have writen but that would be a lot more processing power for both servers then an image that is auto generated when changes are made.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2010-04-17 18:24
    Can the forum moderators allow him to post an example so I can see what is being talked about?· I would like to see others opinion(s) about it.· What is the difference between that and other users posting images from the board like this:



    jumpin.gifjumpin.gifjumpin.gifjumpin.gifjumpin.gifroll.gifroll.gifroll.gifyeah.gifyeah.gifyeah.gifhop.gifhop.gifhop.gifhop.gifhop.gif
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-04-17 18:35
    top post. http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=898727

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-04-17 18:36
    for one thing each of those images is 4 times larger then my sig was.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2010-04-17 18:55
    mctrivia said...
    for one thing each of those images is 4 times larger then my sig was.

    If the image is not larger than regular fonts then I wouldn't have a problem with it.· Some of the products listed in the parallax propeller forum go on for fifty pages.· The fifty pages of telling me about a product is actually bigger than an·image·(tagline)·that isn't bigger than regular fonts.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2010-04-17 18:56
    How big are regular fonts?
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-04-17 19:00
    Personally, I don't think the image approach is that abusive of the forum guidelines. In fact, it's not only clever, but a great way to minimize the persistence of obsolete information, which is a good thing. I still have old posts advertising bare PropSTICK PCBs in my sig line, and those have sold out long ago. I only wish I had thought of this approach when I had the chance.

    Of course, if the forum software treated sig lines the same way it does avatars, this would not be an issue: they would all update automatically. Perhaps the vBulletin software does this, which would moot any any advantages conferred by externally-generated images.

    As an aside, mctrivia, matching the forum font a little more closely would have provided some much-needed stealth to your approach. I think ImageMagick can do that, but with a larger footprint. It looks like you used GD instead.

    -Phil
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-04-17 19:09
    I could not match better without adding shades of grey which would increase file size.

    If this was excepted I could even post all needed php code to make sure users keep small.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-04-17 20:13
    Well, let's see how big a file that would be and how it looks:

    attachment.php?attachmentid=69536

    It's only a 4K GIF with 16 colors (transparent white). A true alpha channel would be better, since you don't know which background color it will appear on.

    (Hmm, that's not a very good match on my PC, since I don't have it set up to anti-alias text. Oh, well; it was worth a shot.)

    -Phil
    mctrivia_stock.gif
    578 x 42 - 4K
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-04-17 20:18
    my image was only 1.16k. and the black/clear blends perfectly with the background. but you can't get anti-alias without grey scale.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,261
    edited 2010-04-17 21:57
    Seems to me having a signature that's just linked instead of written to the post for all time would be a better solution for all involved.

    Many forum software packages do that. Perhaps this one can with a configuration change. I don't like old signatures either.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Propeller Wiki: Share the coolness!
    8x8 color 80 Column NTSC Text Object
    Safety Tip: Life is as good as YOU think it is!
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-04-17 21:59
    in php it is really easy to do by adding parseable tags to your database entries. It does increase server load though.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    edited 2010-04-19 13:27
    mctrivia: I hadn't noticed it was an image although I did see the line.
    If this means however, that while we are getting the page from the forum it goes out to your server to get the latest info then this could be a big slowdown.

    I am pleased to see Parallax's official stance with text signatures. I would not like to see proper graphics in the signature though.

    My only wish is others would put links in their signatures for their software, hardware or threads. The number of times I have to do a horrible search to try and locate something because I didn't bookmark it :-( It was suggested I add links to my signature and now I use them all the time.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Links to other interesting threads:

    · Home of the MultiBladeProps: TriBlade,·RamBlade,·SixBlade, website
    · Single Board Computer:·3 Propeller ICs·and a·TriBladeProp board (ZiCog Z80 Emulator)
    · Prop Tools under Development or Completed (Index)
    · Emulators: CPUs Z80 etc; Micros Altair etc;· Terminals·VT100 etc; (Index) ZiCog (Z80) , MoCog (6809)·
    · Prop OS: SphinxOS·, PropDos , PropCmd··· Search the Propeller forums·(uses advanced Google search)
    My cruising website is: ·www.bluemagic.biz·· MultiBlade Props: www.cluso.bluemagic.biz
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-04-19 15:11
    The image was pre rendered so the delay would be no more then downloading a 1.16k image.

    Also most web browsers download html first then images so it would not slow down page view

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • RavenkallenRavenkallen Posts: 1,057
    edited 2010-04-19 15:45
    I don't see what the big deal is here. The link doesn't really take up that much room.
Sign In or Register to comment.