# Sig Test **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 4, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164 "2013-06-04T23:53:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/1 "2013-06-04T23:53:12Z")
Just checking something. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/2 "2013-06-05T00:01:41Z")
So I checked the FAQ on signatures, and it appears the answer to the question “may I have a link in my sig” is “provisionally, yes.” Is what I’ve got displayed in the OP the best way to do this? As far as I can tell there’s not a way to make it an actual link–it disallows a sig with a url code, and automatically inserts the url code (thereby disallowing the sig) if I type www. or http:// before the url text. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/3 "2013-06-05T01:36:15Z")
We allow people to post a link to their blog in their sig, if that’s one of your questions. I’m not following what technical issue you’re encountering when trying to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/4 "2013-06-05T02:34:53Z")
The technical issue is, if I enter the link into my signature through my user control panel, and I use the “url” code to do so (open bracket url close bracket,) then the board software does not allow me to save the signature, saying the bb code “url” is forbidden. Meanwhile, if I instead simply type “[http://myblogname.com](http://myblogname.com)”, then when I save the signature, it apparently detects the “http://” and automatically places open-bracket-“url”-close-bracket etc into my signature. Then disallows it, on account of the bb code “url” not being allowed. To make the long story short, I’ll put it in the form of a question. Is there a way to make the link in my signature appear as an actual link, rather than just as an unclickable url? ---
**Author:** ![Snerky\_Snerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Snerky\_Snerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snerky_Snerk)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/5 "2013-06-05T07:19:44Z")
I think you might need to be a member to put a link in your sig file. Can anyone confirm? If that is the case, you will have to manually ad a signature to each post you wish it to appear on. Just type it up in notepad or word, and cut and paste it as needed. e.g. * * * This sig has been entered as part of the post. I don’t have a blog, but here’s a link to google. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/6 "2013-06-05T20:43:35Z")
I actually have 2 links in my sig. I just used standard board coding and it works fine. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/7 "2013-06-05T21:45:14Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I actually have 2 links in my sig. I just used standard board coding and it works fine. Odd. I can’t figure out why it works for you and not for me. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/8 "2013-06-05T22:32:24Z")
Can you copy & paste what you’re putting in? ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/9 "2013-06-05T22:35:42Z")
Does HTML code work? This would be: ```auto insert text here ``` ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/10 "2013-06-05T22:38:54Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > Does HTML code work? > > This would be > > ```html > insert text here > > ``` No. HTML is disabled on the Dope. Check the very bottom of this page. [BB code](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/misc.php?do=bbcode) is what you want. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/11 "2013-06-05T22:44:31Z")
That is to say, I believe what the OP needs to put in their sig field is: [url][hopelessgeneralist.blogspot.com](http://hopelessgeneralist.blogspot.com)[/url] minus the spaces after “url” in both tags. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/12 "2013-06-05T23:15:16Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > That is to say, I believe what the OP needs to put in their sig field is: > > [url][hopelessgeneralist.blogspot.com](http://hopelessgeneralist.blogspot.com)[/url] > > minus the spaces after “url” in both tags. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying. When I do, it gives me the following message: “BB code url is not allowed.” And does not save the signature. I’ve also tried it with the [url =[hopelessgeneralist.blogspot.com](http://hopelessgeneralist.blogspot.com)]The Hopeless Generalist[/url], with the same result. And I’ve also tried just typing [http://hopelessgeneralist.blogspot.com](http://hopelessgeneralist.blogspot.com), with the exact same result (after it, apparently, simply adds url codes to the signature that I did not type in!) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/13 "2013-06-06T03:39:13Z")
Well, I got nothin’. I just tried it by copying & pasting what you gave there into my sig, removing the spaces, and it worked fine. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Snerky\_Snerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Snerky\_Snerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snerky_Snerk)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/14 "2013-06-06T04:23:02Z")
I got nothin’ too. I cut and pasted and removed the spaces and the system rejected it - it says I can’t use the url tag. I found this quote from Ed when the issue of sigs came up before - > [@](#): > > While we’re at it we’re going to make sig files a member benefit and disable them for non-members. That doesn’t mean non-members can’t have signatures, but they must enter them manually. Non-members can’t post links in sigs, though. Sorry, but I lost the link to the thread that quote is from. I don’t know if that was the final decision, or if it has been amended since. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/15 "2013-06-06T08:41:32Z")
> [@Snerky\_Snerk](#): > > I got nothin’ too. I cut and pasted and removed the spaces and the system rejected it - it says I can’t use the url tag. > > I found this quote from Ed when the issue of sigs came up before - > Sorry, but I lost the link to the thread that quote is from. I don’t know if that was the final decision, or if it has been amended since. The current FAQ on signatures used to say this, but doesn’t anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sig-test/660164/16 "2013-06-06T08:42:32Z")
**Snowboarder Ro** , were you ever a paying member?