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How Do I Create Signature File?
#11
(05-29-2021, 03:18 PM)StageMan Wrote: Hello, 

I had 24 years in the I.T. Industry. I am well versed in Forums. I have looked in my Profile for "Signature" to make a Signature File. To no avail!

I used the "Help" and searched for "Signature File". There are no instructions on how to "effectively" use this Forum Board's functions. 

How do I create a Signature File in Gimp-Forum. 

Thank You! 
Chris

There is no explicit provision for signature files. You can put a BBCode [img] tag/link in your signature text to include an image that comes from "somewhere", typically imgur.com or some such image site.

We don't support sig files carried by the forum because they end up being a sizable part of the network bandwidth (this network is financed by our own funds, so we try to keep the expenses low). Consider also that some of our users are bandwidth-challenged, and the information content of sig images is fairly low.
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#12
(05-30-2021, 11:58 PM)CtrlAltDel Wrote:
(05-30-2021, 11:33 PM)StageMan Wrote: Thanks for the reply Ricardo. 

Yeah, Having had 24 years in I.T. I knew it wasn't on my end. 
Thanks for the link. 
Hay... you're an Admin. Can you square it away?

Chris

Hi, Chris.  This is sort of unusual, having no option to use a signature file and not being able to use the avatar option that is seemingly available.  This is just a suggestion and I have no idea if it will fix the problem you have. But, why not try?

From the User Control Panel, select Edit Options and make sure that Display User's Signatures and Display User's Avatars is checked.  It's worth a shot.

[Image: Q81XORA.png]

Also, check and see if the "Signature" box is checked when you are actually composing a post.  This will only show up when you are making a post, it's not in the Control Panel.  And these are just ideas, as it doesn't seem like it would affect anything but, you never know.

Also, are you using an outdated browser, perhaps?  Maybe try another browser.  After making any changes, sign out and back in.

The "Change Signature" Link showed up in the Control Panel/Dashboard today. 
Thank you for all the help. 

Best Regards, StageMan

(06-01-2021, 12:28 PM)Ofnuts Wrote:
(05-29-2021, 03:18 PM)StageMan Wrote: Hello, 

I had 24 years in the I.T. Industry. I am well versed in Forums. I have looked in my Profile for "Signature" to make a Signature File. To no avail!

I used the "Help" and searched for "Signature File". There are no instructions on how to "effectively" use this Forum Board's functions. 

How do I create a Signature File in Gimp-Forum. 

Thank You! 
Chris

There is no explicit provision for signature files. You can put a BBCode [img] tag/link in your signature text to include an image that comes from "somewhere", typically imgur.com or some such image site.

We don't support sig files carried by the forum because they end up being a sizable part of the network bandwidth (this network is financed by our own funds, so we try to keep the expenses low). Consider also that some of our users are bandwidth-challenged, and the information content of sig images is fairly low.

Got it OfNuts! 
The Change Signature link showed up today, but I'm taking what you said into consideration. 
I appreciate your candor and will not be including a signature to limited bandwidth usage.
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#13
Ofnuts said:

 Consider also that some of our users are bandwidth-challenged, 

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I'm not contemplating the use of a signature file, so I'm not trying to carve out an excuse for myself. But isn't it true that image files on the net (including animated gifs) typically download only once per session, and thereafter "run" locally  from the client's cache?

I participated in a forum years ago where Alex St John (Microsoft's Direct-X guru) participated regularly, and he was fairly steadfast in his assurance that "bandwidth robbing gif files" were given way more credit for the problems they were claimed to cause, than was actually the case.   Just curious where you stand on that?


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#14
On a forum like this, for one returning visitor (who has all the sig files cached locally) we have a hundred first-time visitors who haven't... Little impact for the forum server, since the sigs are on imgur or elsewhere, but potentially a sizeable impact for the visitor, especially if using a slow link.
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#15
(06-06-2021, 12:16 AM)Ofnuts Wrote: On a forum like this, for one returning visitor (who has all the sig files cached locally) we have a hundred first-time visitors who haven't...  Little impact for the forum server, since the sigs are on imgur or elsewhere, but potentially a sizeable impact for the visitor, especially if using a slow link.

Can't the forum software be made to not allow signature images, or even avatar images?  Your avatar is 16 kb, mine is 20kb, etc... for all users that have them.  My signature file size is 62 kb, which I thought would be reasonable but, maybe not if there are many users who have not only dial-up connections, but poor dial-up connections.  This is not even taking into consideration those who have to pay for every single bit of data.

They probably have to quit visiting the forum very quickly when people start linking 200-800kb images for illustration purposes, which happens in just about every thread.  They don't stand a chance when there are, and there are a lot of examples on this board, .gif animations easily consuming 2-5mb posted.

I will delete my avatar image and signature image as I didn't realize it could be such a detriment to others.  I guess I live in a sort of fantasy world wherein I have unlimited bandwidth provided for a set monthly and reasonable rate and I don't stop to consider other's situations in the world.  I guess that is why Americans are so despised by so many, we never think of others.
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#16
(06-06-2021, 02:38 AM)CtrlAltDel Wrote:
(06-06-2021, 12:16 AM)Ofnuts Wrote: On a forum like this, for one returning visitor (who has all the sig files cached locally) we have a hundred first-time visitors who haven't...  Little impact for the forum server, since the sigs are on imgur or elsewhere, but potentially a sizeable impact for the visitor, especially if using a slow link.

Can't the forum software be made to not allow signature images, or even avatar images?  Your avatar is 16 kb, mine is 20kb, etc... for all users that have them.  My signature file size is 62 kb, which I thought would be reasonable but, maybe not if there are many users who have not only dial-up connections, but poor dial-up connections.  This is not even taking into consideration those who have to pay for every single bit of data.

They probably have to quit visiting the forum very quickly when people start linking 200-800kb images for illustration purposes, which happens in just about every thread.  They don't stand a chance when there are, and there are a lot of examples on this board, .gif animations easily consuming 2-5mb posted.

I will delete my avatar image and signature image as I didn't realize it could be such a detriment to others.  I guess I live in a sort of fantasy world wherein I have unlimited bandwidth provided for a set monthly and reasonable rate and I don't stop to consider other's situations in the world.  I guess that is why Americans are so despised by so many, we never think of others.

No need to overdo it.  The avatars are small... In this very thread, the biggest file by far is the screenshot above.
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#17
Just my two euros worth.

The avatars are tiny, most are good fun as well. Embedded images ? it is a trade off between information provided (it is true, an image is worth a thousand words) and image size / annoyance. I know Ofnuts says English text can be translated on line these days but sometimes an image provides the necessary information easily.

Images hosted on file sharing sites such as imgur can be displayed or not, up to the user to edit the link inserted. Same trade off as embedded images for value / size / annoyance. The annoyance value can be greater when the image is repeated ad-nauseam with quoted replies.

The real problem with externally hosted images and videos (and I make some of those) is persistence. It has happened before where the hosting site closes or becomes subscription only. Those forum posts then become mostly junk.

Originally, I come from comp.graphics.apps.gimp Usenet where you soon learned what was acceptable or not. People were not as gentle in those days. For the sake of my sanity, please not a quote-in-a-quote-in-a-quote followed by "that's nice" or a "thanks" followed by a monster graphical sig.

Please put this down to the grumpy-old-man effect, where a signature used to be two dashes and a space followed by text

--
rich
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#18
(06-06-2021, 07:35 AM)Ofnuts Wrote: No need to overdo it.  The avatars are small... In this very thread, the biggest file by far is the screenshot above.

Okay, Ofnuts.  I did notice though, after reading this thread, I do seem to have been the only one here with a signature file image.  I'll keep the avatar and eliminate the signature just so as to not be the odd duck.

(06-06-2021, 08:13 AM)rich2005 Wrote: Originally, I come from comp.graphics.apps.gimp Usenet where you soon learned what was acceptable or not. People were not as gentle in those days. For the sake of my sanity, please not a quote-in-a-quote-in-a-quote followed by "that's nice" or a "thanks" followed by a monster graphical sig.

Please put this down to the grumpy-old-man effect, where a signature used to be two dashes and a space followed by text

--
rich

You have brought back some old memories, Rich.  I too used to hang out on Usenet in a group named 24hoursupport.helpdesk, among others, beginning in 1995.  As I think back, I'm almost beginning to think I remember you there but that may just be a false sense of dejavu.

I still have the Pan Newsreader, mostly just for nostalgia purposes and to pop into old groups every year or so and see if anything is like it used to be, but those halcyon days of Usenet are gone forever.  Sad  You could encounter the most brilliant, erudite, and cerebral individuals you would likely ever meet and the most depraved, wacko, literally insane people participating oftentimes in the same thread.

There were no speech police, no thought regulators, feelings didn't count and no one whined or cried or complained.
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