# A Signature Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2001, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014 "2001-04-06T02:43:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/1 "2001-04-06T02:43:24Z")
There might be a way to free up some space on the SDMB server and perhaps speed things up a little, but it would involve a little sacrifice from the Teeming Millions. What are your thoughts on the possible elimination of the “Signature” option? You would still be able to add a personal “siggy” at the bottom of your message, but it would have to be typed in each time. Your thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/2 "2001-04-06T03:05:09Z")
Go for it. It also might cut down on some of the novellas that are passing for sigs these days. It’s a sig line, not a sig monologue. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/3 "2001-04-06T03:06:31Z")
Won’t the people who want to use a sig still use it whether the automatic option is there or not? Or is removing the option the thing that will speed things up? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/4 "2001-04-06T03:09:43Z")
I rarely attach my sig any more, and, frankly, some of the ones in (over)use lately are a bit much… I wouldn’t mind if the option disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/5 "2001-04-06T03:23:46Z")
How does eliminating the sig speed the board up? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/6 "2001-04-06T03:42:42Z")
“Get rid of 'em” sez I! And if getting rid of 'em will speed up the board, so much the better!!! Fenris ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/7 "2001-04-06T04:14:56Z")
If it’ll speed up the board, yank 'em. But like some other people have said, how come it will speed up the board? ---
**Author:** ![Mnementh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mnementh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnementh)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/8 "2001-04-06T04:18:57Z")
As far as I understand, the sigs drain resources since the server has to look in the poster’s records to find his sig each time someone opens a thread with a sig in it. Add 50 sigs in a page of a thread, and you’re looking up 51 files instead of just one. I say, go ahead and scrap it. Just having people copy/paste their sigs into a post if they still want to use them isn’t a huge effort on an individual basis, and it seems to me it’d probably make quite an improvement. (sig omitted. :D) ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/9 "2001-04-06T04:45:06Z")
Why does the server have to look up a person’s sig file? Couldn’t we just have the text of the sig file placed into the thread file whenever a post is added? ---
**Author:** ![Lost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/22d042/32.png) [@Lost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lost)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/10 "2001-04-06T05:14:37Z")
Ditto what Mr. Cynical said. My vote says ditch 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Lux\_Fiat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lux\_Fiat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lux_Fiat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/11 "2001-04-06T05:23:44Z")
Go for it, sez I. They can be cute, but they certainly ain’t necessary. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/12 "2001-04-06T05:28:44Z")
I’m curious. Would the old sigs be converted to textual parts of the posts they were originally attached to, or would they simply vanish? * * * _ **"They’ll take my Mark of the Beast when they pry it from my cold, dead hand."** _ [sub]Note: Sig has been typed in by hand.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/13 "2001-04-06T06:01:29Z")
Ditch the bloody things! I’m a confirmed hater of reading the same trivia over and over and over again in the same thread. It’s mildly amusing once but then it gets old real fast. ---
**Author:** ![dpr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dpr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dpr)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/14 "2001-04-06T06:12:07Z")
Can you say “buhbye!”?? I’d not miss them. ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/15 "2001-04-06T07:12:04Z")
Anything to speed up the board. I say pitch 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/16 "2001-04-06T07:22:03Z")
Like FairyChatMom, I rarely attach mine anyway. I wouldn’t miss the feature, particularly if it speeds up the boards. I’m perfectly capable of appending my own (allegedly) witty epigrams by hand. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/17 "2001-04-06T07:24:13Z")
I have a sig but I never use it, since I have to remember to check that box. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/18 "2001-04-06T07:40:45Z")
Okay. Dump it. And you know how much I love my cigs… ah, sweet nicotine… Oh, sig? As in signature? Hmmmmmm. Go on then. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/19 "2001-04-06T07:47:40Z")
My sig keeps me from having to apologize for my horrible writing skills. But in the interest of speed, I vote to ditch 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2001, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014/20 "2001-04-06T08:44:20Z")
I vote ditch 'em. I like them, but they’re not necessary and if it speeds up the boards then it’s all good. Fran [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-signature-poll/61014.md?page=2)