Signature background

Well it makes the signature stand out a bit which I am not sure is a good thing as the main thing is the post not the signature.

Hmm ... you might be right, Scribbller. I hadn't thought of that. I will think about it a little more and maybe make the signature background the same shade as the postbit. Therefore, it doesn't really stand out since it's one shade against the same shade of grey - it'll just have a little bevel effect border.

I decided to just use a standard line again, only not black ;) this time, and use that nifty background I made for the post titles instead. What do you think?

Very Nice.

I thought I was going nuts a minute ago when my posts had different signature 'looks'

I agree with Scribbller about making the signature stand out, it would be a shame to take the focus away from the posts.

But the new background is pretty good and looks nice as background for the post titles.

SE (getting sick of writing Steveneven - especially as its not my name - might re register under my normal name, assuming dick is not a banned word around these parts..)

PS: See this post for more details on name choice...

Did you try using the background for the post title and the signature?

For awhile I tried using the background for the post title and the signature at the same time. In the end, I think I've settled on actually just the post title. When I was using it for both, it looked almost as if the content was a squished cookie. Hmm ... let's try it again and see!! :-D

LOL Personally I like it, but I guess for the mainstream it may be a bit much.
Me <== not mainstream
or should that be:
Me != mainstream

I am still pretty apprehensive about this, it just sticks the signature out with having a different background and a proper border, this background would look behind quoted test thogh and it also looks good behind the thread title.

I think I agree with Scribbller... it makes the signature stick out more than the actual post. The background is neat, but I think it's the wrong place for it. OR... what if you kept it but forced the signature box down a few lines so that there is more white space between the end of the post and the signature? I would just like more attention drawn to the actual post, I think.

I like the BG though... it's neat. Just not sure it's the right place for it.

I really like the idea -- but it kind of seems that the signatures are now part of the posts. They should be clearly separated IMO...

After staring for about half a day at the signature with a line above it side by side with the signature in a box, I think I came to a conclusion. The eye is not drawn to the signature first because of the box around it. Instead, it's just a matter of the fact that most posts are plain font while signatures are bigger, more colorful, and sometimes even longer. Therefore, no matter how the signature is decorated, or rather not decorated, the eye will still be drawn to it over plain text.

In fact, when there was just a very thin line above the signature, the eye was still drawn to the sig first over the post itself. The only difference was that the signature was not separated by a background, and therefore gave the false illusion that it was part of the post entity, and you were looking at the post.

Looking at the current setup, I take my first comment back, the sig looks ok with a background.

I like the current look* as the post is the 'odd' bit out, which kinda makes the post draw your attention.

SE

*Just in case it changes again the current look is the post title and the posters signature are in boxes with cscgal's new fancy background, the post is on a simple grey background.

I agree with Dani about the eye being drawn to the post rather than the signature. And it is an aesthetically pleasing background.

But the main question is: What is the purpose of the change. In other words, besides it looking pretty - what added value does it contribute the posts?

The first reason is because I thought that the black horizontal line separating the post from the signature was rather crude looking. The second reason is that the fading binary 1s and 0s mimic the 1s and 0s behind the user login information in the header. From a marketing perspective, this accomplishes a few things. First, it brings some grey gradient (which subliminally reminds people of "tech") farther down on the page. It also provides a subliminal link between the member information in the header and the member's signatures - both offer something that is forum member specific. The question then is why not put the box around the user information (username / avatar / postcount)? The reason being back to square one - that doesn't solve the problem of the crude looking black line separating post from signature.

The only difference was that the signature was not separated by a background, and therefore gave the false illusion that it was part of the post entity, and you were looking at the post.

I like the new format for this reason; more then once I found myself rereading to see where the post ended and the signature began. I don't think it takes the focus away from the post.

im not sure i like it at all, it makes them stand out, and is far to busy to have text on top of it, you should never put text on text like that (IMHO) just because it becomes to active, and it takes away from the main post, as crude as you thought, maybe crude is the way to go. it looks good and it doesnt take away from the post!

The question then is why not put the box around the user information (username / avatar / postcount)?

I believe that the reason the eye is drawn to the post over the header and the sig is because the user info is the same as the post. I naturally look at the user name and avatar and the eye follows the white space over into the text normally.

i'm not really finding a way out to Post my views or articles. my apprehension still belongs to the inabiliity of posting a message or rather not ablee to locate a prtinent link. can you help me in finding a way out to process the posting?

Read this topic, danfritschen, and the information linked in it. You'll find plenty of information about the forum there :D