# Are sig lines dying out? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739 "2005-04-11T03:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/21 "2005-04-11T15:04:13Z")
I don’t even think I’ve ever had a sig here. (I have them turned off, so just tell me if I’m wrong and I display something obnoxious with every post.) Some of the many things I love about this board are that you can hide sigs and we don’t have avatars or picture posting. Those are the things that make message boards shiny. I like shiny things, but not shiny message boards. One board I go on is mostly made up of teenage girls, and they are so attached to their banner-heavy sigs and animated avatars that it’s really starting to irritate me. They’re way better than the average teenage girl, but still attached to their shiny. ---
**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 11, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/22 "2005-04-11T16:12:18Z")
When you meet someone in real life, you categorize them by physical appearance. When you talk with people on the phone, you at least have their tone of voice. I think sig lines perform a similar function on a message board, where there’s no physical appearnace and everyone’s text looks the same. You get dropped into this world with hundreds of people running around, and sig lines help you to sort out their identities. I remember a lot of folks by the sig lines they had, even though in some cases I haven’t seen the actual signatures in years, such as **MEBuckner** : ah, yes, the guy with the battle-axe. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/23 "2005-04-11T18:13:27Z")
avatars are pretty lame, IMO, but I’ve always liked sigs. Seems like there’s enough folks here that you kind of see something new most days. That said, I never include mine. Not even sure what it is. Until now. . . ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/24 "2005-04-11T22:12:55Z")
I kinda like avatars, but that’s just because I use my same one everywhere. I view them as an icon representing the person… it makes it easier to scroll through a thread looking for posts by a specific person rather than trying to read usernames as they fly up the screen. Signatures, OTOH, yeah. Three lines, 250 Characters, maximum. No graphics. Under no circumstances should your posts consistently be shorter than your .sig. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/25 "2005-04-11T22:28:31Z")
I like sig lines as long as they’re short and interesting in one way or another. I’m also definitely with most of the others here when I say the absence of images is one of the things I like very best about this board, right after The People and The High Level Of Discussion on the List of Cool Things That Make Me Keep Coming Back. Now joining up with everyone else here in clicking my sig box to see what it actually says… ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/26 "2005-04-11T22:32:19Z")
:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/27 "2005-04-11T22:45:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Bersides, I like to see how long it takes people to react to them, or if they never do because they’re too obscure or otherwise unintelligible. Oh, rest assured, **CalMeacham** , I always react to them, just not on the boards. I’ll be scrolling through a thread, not really paying attention to the names, but then I’ll see a witty and new sig line, and say to myself "Hey, is that Cal? Where do you get those things, anyway? I’m particularly fond of two of your older ones: “Tell Zeno I’m willing to meet him halfway”, and “‘Of course’, said my grandfather as he stepped from the time machine and drew his gun, ‘there’s no paradox if I shoot you.’”. Myself, I’m boring. I’ve only ever had two siglines, the current Shakespeare one and an older Einstein quote. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/28 "2005-04-11T23:07:50Z")
The only time I tried attaching mine it didn’t show up. Let’s see if it works better now: ---
**Author:** ![alphaFemale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecb155/32.png) [@alphaFemale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaFemale)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/29 "2005-04-11T23:34:49Z")
hi. ---
**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 12, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/30 "2005-04-12T01:22:09Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > The only time I tried attaching mine it didn’t show up. > > Let’s see if it works better now: **Sage Rat** : when you get the full posting screen, there are two sets of buttons. In each set, there’s one button that says “Submit Reply” and one that says “Preview Post”. To post your sig, you need to both check the “Show your signature” box _and_ click on the _lower_ of the two “Submit Reply” buttons. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/31 "2005-04-12T01:26:07Z")
I keep on forgetting to attach mine, but for the record, here it is: ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/32 "2005-04-12T03:11:36Z")
Not entirely a thing of the past. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/33 "2005-04-12T03:45:14Z")
I almost never think to check the stoopid box. And when I do, I forget that it goes away on preview. So I pretty much gave up and stopped caring. ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/34 "2005-04-12T04:27:49Z")
I don’t think I’ve read anything but the sigs in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/35 "2005-04-12T04:29:18Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > go to Edit Options\>Thread Display Options and uncheck signatures and avatars. > > _bamf_ I meant across the entire internet, not just the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/36 "2005-04-12T05:05:29Z")
oh. i had assumed that other board software would come with the same options too… :o ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/37 "2005-04-12T06:19:10Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > oh. i had assumed that other board software would come with the same options too… :o Not always. And I don’t want to have to register just to turn off some options. I’m not saying that I get bent out of shape over it, but ideally, the world would be sig and avatar free. ---
**Author:** ![bclouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@bclouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bclouse)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/38 "2005-04-12T06:32:06Z")
I was wondering why my sig never showed up. Check the box… riiight ---
**Author:** ![bclouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@bclouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bclouse)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/39 "2005-04-12T06:34:13Z")
I checked it! I swear! ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739/40 "2005-04-12T09:43:01Z")
I used to have a few obscure pop culture references (“Buy Whizzo Butter” was one of them) but eventually I changed it to something more useful, my myspace, which nowadays pretty much doubles as my webpage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sig-lines-dying-out/298739.md?page=3)