Signature Policy

[Jioruji Derako]

While not an issue until more recently, we're running into more and more reasons to get a signature policy up and running. I don't want to call out any examples, but I'm sure many of you have already seen users with signatures that don't even reflect their username properly, signatures using large images that disrupt page formatting, and signatures that use coding so long, it becomes hard to find the actual comments when in edit mode.

I'm willing to write up the entire policy in a "draft" form, unless there's objections; you all can take a look at the suggestions, and decide if it's a good idea.

Basic rules that most signature policies do have are:
*Signature must reflect the user's name appropriately (User:Example could sign as "Example", or maybe even "E.g.:", but not "Joey the Editor").
*Limit coding; doesn't have to be a concrete limit, but if it takes up more then three or four lines in the edit window, then it's probably too big.
*No {{templates}}. Using a template for your signature is generally unnecessary, unless you're trying to get around the coding limit rule; also, while templated signatures can be updated at any time, this is also the biggest problem; if you sign your name on fifty pages, then decide to change your template, the server now has to update fifty pages at once. It might not sound like a big deal, but trust me, I've seen wiki servers crash from a lot less then this.
*Colors should be readable. Signing your comments with light grey or white lettering defeats the purpose of signing at all.
*No <big>, <sup>, <sub>, or <font size=#> tags. These will disrupt the rest of the page, due to the signatures being offset or larger then the rest of the comments.
*Images should be no bigger then 19px high. (that's the default size of the lettering, if I recall correctly.) Any bigger then that, and it's the same story as the <big> tags.

That's everything I can remember off the top of my head; there may be more common sense rules to put down, like, signatures shouldn't take up more then one line on their own (such as using a linebreak to stretch the page out). I'm basing this policy off other policies I've seen... let's see, I think I can post a few examples:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sign_your_posts_on_talk_pages Wikipedia, of course.
http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/GuildWiki:Sign_your_comments GuildWiki, a popular gaming wiki I frequent.

I hope I explained my points clearly, and without coming across to strongly... but I really believe having at least a few guidelines in place for what can or can't be in a signature would really help out in a lot of places.

Geo - a.k.a. Jioruji Derako

 

[TTEchidna]

I don't see much reason to disallow the sup/sub tags. So long as they don't take up the whole thing.

 

[Jioruji Derako]

I think the reason they're disallowed on most places is how they can stick out above or below the actual signature and mess up the line height... but yeh, aside from that, there's probably not much reason to disallow them. Maybe simply say they're not encouraged, so if someone makes an entire signature with alternating tags for the express purpose of making his/her signature take up two lines, someone can officially request that he/she change his/her signature.

The main purpose of the policy isn't to completely lock down the coding you can use, but help give users a good set of guidelines when they make a signature. If someone decides to use the <font size=#> tags to make their signature a little smaller then normal, then that's no big deal. But if someone uses the same tags to make their name fill up the screen, then you've got a nice policy to point to when you say "please don't do that". Without a policy of the sort, people can't technically force a user to change a disruptive signature; unless, of course, you ban the user simply because of their signature, and that doesn't sound like a fun option.

Geo - a.k.a. Jioruji Derako

 

[TTEchidna]

Certainly, images in the sup/sub tags, but text, not so much.

 

[Jioruji Derako]

Hmm, you're right, the tags don't have as much an effect as I first thought. Really only an issue if someone uses the <font size=#> tag in the <sub> or <sup> tag, and that's already disallowed in this draft. Definitely a rule against images in the tags, of course.

What else needs to be done for this to take a step closer to being an actual policy? I don't know if the admins discuss things like this among themselves, or if this is the discussion here... if you need a more detailed version of the policy written up, let me know, I can write the full policy in my userspace as a draft.

Geo.> (trying very hard not to sign his comments with tildes)

 

[Sketch]

There needs to be some kind of limit.

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Talk:Dawn's_Ambipom

This is ridiculous. When the same people contribute to a page and talk on the talk page, their signatures pile up.

 

[Jioruji Derako]

Limiting users to one image per signature might be a good idea as well, a lot of people have multiple images that just make signatures gigantic. Small images don't seem like much, but when you've got three in one signature, they add up, and talk pages start looking very, very cluttered. It wouldn't be a popular rule I don't think, but possibly a needed one...

 

[Theryguy512]

Limiting users to one image per signature might be a good idea as well, a lot of people have multiple images that just make signatures gigantic. Small images don't seem like much, but when you've got three in one signature, they add up, and talk pages start looking very, very cluttered. It wouldn't be a popular rule I don't think, but possibly a needed one...

What? We shouldn't limit to one image each. We should limit like.......4 or 5. And it I think that it should be required to have the pictures as mini-sprites.

 

[Tina]

I think 1-3 sounds good as a picture limit on signatures. If people keep it to minisprites or downsize it, that is.

Emerald sprites in signatures will die. *twitches*

 

[Theryguy512]

Emerald sprites in signatures will die. *twitches*

I changed my signature from Emerald to minisprites..

 

[Tina]

Lol good point. *And I'm damn glad you did too. I'm scarred by that Wobbuffet now. XD;*

 

[Theryguy512]

I also think that we should require signature to say you're ACTUAL name. Well, shortenings like '''Tina''' instead of the full TinaTheKirlia IS fine, yes, but some users have their signatures saying a totally different name!

 

[Tina]

^ Ah, yes, that too.. um, would you think that having your name in katakana'd be okay though? Right now that's how I have it, but I know that some people don't have the Japanese fonts installed so it might come up odd.. I dunno, just wondering.

Ah geez. I almost signed off with four tildes.

 

[Theryguy512]

^ Ah, yes, that too.. um, would you think that having your name in katakana'd be okay though? Right now that's how I have it, but I know that some people don't have the Japanese fonts installed so it might come up odd.. I dunno, just wondering.

Yea, any Japanese text (or ANY foriegn text) just shows up as boxes on my computer.....

^ Ah geez. I almost signed off with four tildes.

 

[Theryguy512]

^ Ah, yes, that too.. um, would you think that having your name in katakana'd be okay though? Right now that's how I have it, but I know that some people don't have the Japanese fonts installed so it might come up odd.. I dunno, just wondering.

Yea, any Japanese text (or ANY foriegn text) just shows up as boxes on my computer.....

^ Ah geez. I almost signed off with four tildes.

 

[TTEchidna]

All you gotta do is download a foreign language pack, it's pretty easy.

 

[Sketch]

I think 1-3 sounds good as a picture limit on signatures. If people keep it to minisprites or downsize it, that is.

Emerald sprites in signatures will die. *twitches*

Most of the signatures have three in them now. It would need to be one to two.

 

[White Len]

Urrrr...

Okay...what the hell is going on here?

True, my bunny got killed (literally). Now I have my literal Russian name, and may I ask if there's anything wrong with Russian and Japanese characters?

If there is...I'd happily change it.

(\__/)
(+'.'+) This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny into
(")_(") your signature to help him gain world domination.

 

[Tina]

^ I'm rather curious about that too.. is it allowed to have your name in your signature to be in a different language?

 

[Jioruji Derako]

Hmm... so long as the foreign name still accurately represents the user using it, I don't think it would be an issue. The real problem is when a user's signature doesn't actually tell you who the user is. It's like signing your name as "teh big X" on your checks. Just doesn't make sense (even if that is a cool name). There are some names that I don't think would translate well... but I think if you can look at the signature and tell from that alone who you're looking at, then you're set. If the translation's really far off from the regular name, then perhaps leave your normal name in there in <small> tags or something, so people who don't know Russian or Spanish or French or whatever can still see who it is.

Shortening your name isn't a problem, I think I mentioned that somewhere in the policy draft I wrote in the first post... If I see "Tina", I can still figure out it's "TinaTheKirlia". Same goes for TTE, I don't need to see the rest of the name to know who it is. "Thery" for "TheryGuy" is another easy one (although I don't think you could get away with "Guy", maybe "T.Guy" or something).

I personally don't know what would be good for an image limit... just one image would be best, obviously, but I'm aware that a lot of users have multiple images, and wouldn't like having that changed much. I personally think three is a bit much, so maybe two would be good... it's just annoying to go to a talk page with a lot of signatures, each with three or four animated sprites, in a long discussion. Makes it look like the who page is bouncing around, and that's a good sign that there's too many images, IMO.

I don't think any policy would be very strict, per say... someone could be technically breaking a rule by just a little bit, and get away with it. But if someone has a complaint about a signature, they at least have something to point to ("hey, your username is "ThisGuy", but your signature reads "AntelopeMan". Please make it fit the signature policy a little better?").

Geo - a.k.a. Jioruji Derako