[how big is too big?]
- Everyone on BUS can have a signature, if they want one. We do have some rules concerning the content of signatures, and you can read those here. We also have some rules about the size of images in sigs, and that is what this post is here to clarify. There are two aspects of size to consider - the file size of your image (this affects download times) and the physical, or displaying size of your image (this affects how large it appears on the board.)
file size
- Although some people using BUS have fast connections that download images rapidly, there are others who access the board with slower connections. For them, a really huge image in your signature means that they have to wait longer to see each page. To try to make sure that BUS loads in a reasonable amount of time for everyone, we have limited the file size of images in your signature to 50 KB (that's 50 KB total for all images, not per image).
- You can find out the size of any image by right-clicking (hold control and click on a mac) on the image and choosing properties. If you use this method to find the size of the BUS logo (at the top of your screen, or posted bellow) it will say something like "3.33 KB (3407 bytes)". The number will likely be a little bit different from what I quoted, and that's just because we're not all using the same computer. Check your sig. If the image that you're using, or that you want to put in your sig is larger than 50 KB, it needs to be made smaller. If you know how to do this yourself, that's great! If you don't, you can ask someone on BUS to help you - there will be a list of people who have volunteered to help shrink pictures at the end of this post.
- In addition to file size, we also limit how much space images in your sig can take up on the board. The reason for this is to minimize how much sigs distract people from the actual posts in a thread. If everyone's sig is fairly small, it makes BUS easier to read, and less intimidating and confusing to new users. Though due to differences in computers images don't appear exactly the same size for everyone, our rule of thumb is that all images in your sig must not add up to be any larger than three BUS logos, and should not be taller than two BUS logos.
- The BUS logo is approximately 200 pixels wide and 100 pixels tall, here is what it looks like:
- To clarify what we mean by "no larger than three BUS logos all added together, and no taller than two BUS logos in height," if you imagine that this {} represents an image or images the size of one BUS logo, a sig that looks like this is OK:
{}{}{}
and a sig that looks like this is OK:
{}
{}
but a sig that looks like this is too big:
{}{}{}
{}{}{}
The rules for this are the same whether you're using a few small images, or one big image. - Take a look at your sig. If it seems like you might have images that are too big, we would appreciate greatly if you changed them yourself, whether that means taking the image(s) out of your sig, or shrinking them. If you're not sure if your sig is too big or not, try asking a friend on BUS. You can also always contact an admin or a mod to ask if your sig is too big.
If your sig is too big ...
Whether you've realized that an image in your sig is too big, or you were written to by a mod or an admin asking you to shrink your sig, the first thing you need to know is simple: you're not in trouble! we're not mad at you! Controlling the size of images in your sig, how big your sig can be altogether, and the content of your sig isn't about putting a damper on your creativity, censoring you, or reducing your privileges. The goal here is to keep BUS fast and easy to read for all of us.
- If you know how to change the file size or the dimensions of images yourself, that's great! Don't forget that you can always use the BUS Photo Gallery to host your pictures. (Read more about that here.)
- If you don't know how to make the necessary changes, Milvus and ChaseThisLight have volunteered to help people re-size their images. You could also try asking the Avatar Wranglers, or if they're not available, you might find someone to help you by posting on Administriva, or just asking around. (If you'd like to volunteer to help people re-size their sig images, that's great! Feel free to reply to this thread and let others know that you're available to help.)
- If you have some pictures that you love, but which are too large to go in your sig, that doesn't mean you have to get rid of them entirely. You can always put them in your Place, or another thread of yours, and link to them in your sig.
- If you don't like seeing images in people's sigs, or if it slows BUS down for you too much, there are a couple options which will allow you to hide these images. There is information on how to use the browser Firefox to hide images here. If that doesn't work for you, admins can make it so that you don't see any sigs, but the only way to do this is to set your permissions to not allow you to have a sig. (We'd rather if you used the Firefox method, so that we don't have to limit your permissions!) There are buttons in your preferences in your profile that should hide sigs, but unfortunately that feature does not work right now.
One last thought ...
It is possible that even though your sig fits inside these guidelines, you might get a private message from an admin asking you to change something in your sig. This is because it's impossible to think up every possible sig-related situation and cover them all in this one post. It might be that you have a large image in your sig that moves a lot, and is very distracting, or maybe you have HUGE LETTERS in your sig, or there is a content issue. Whatever the reason, we'll explain the problem as well as we can, and we'll work with you to find a solution you can feel good about which also works for BUS.
prox. [on behalf of BUS staff]
