Do you use signatures?

[webmoo]

Hi guys and gals,

We've seen an new type of spammer recently. We've had several people register and then never post, but add spam links into their signature files.

This means that their profile, as displayed when their username is accessed through the members list, displays the adverts, but it's hard for us to spot them unless we check every user's profile every so often.

The big reason for this is that the links are still seen by search engines, so it still appears that we are linking to them. This can boost results for their site and can reduce ratings for our site.

Thus: I propose to disable signature files altogether. We have very few users who use them. If you do wish to use them, they can be enabled on a specific basis. - just get in touch.

Does anyone have any major objection to this?

If you wish to continue using signature files, please let me know and I'll enable them for you specifically, or feel free to post your opinions below.

Cheers,

Phil

[LS]

I have no problem with disabling it Phil. Most forum users tend to use sigs as a way of posting something humourous but unfortunately most who come here aren't in that frame of mind to appreciate it.
Anything which helps the site to run more smoothly can only be good, in my book.
LS

[Saffron]

I have never used them - switching them off would make life easier for the mod team!

[macdougal]

Yeah go for it Phil. Maybe they are noticed when someone uses one but I really do not think they will be missed (if anyone notices at all that they arent there)

[Rights Fighter]

They are not necessary as far as I am concerned. I say that anything that keeps the forum and it's members safe should be done.

[friday]

i say disable them and if people want to post funny things we could have a thread of things that make us smile (we may even have one...i remember something about squirrels and coffee...?)

[webmoo]

Ok, no-one seems to have a problem with this and this will kill off a lot of spam in one easy move, so they shall be disabled.

Thanks!

[RFLH]

Hurrah!!..............

[webmoo]

And they are gone. All signatures, apart from those for moderators and admins, have now been disabled.

If anyone has any strong need for a sig file, they can be re-enabled on an individual basis. Just get in touch.