[Omega]

This is a polite request for everyone who has gear listed in their signature to please remove it! The reason is simple--the signatures show up in search results, and yield MANY false positives when trying to search for previously discussed topics. Gear can be listed in your profile, where there is a special place for it.

Advantage: everyone gets better quality search results!

Disadvantage: None, unless you feel the loss of a chance to show off your gear in every post. I suggest a simple remedy...make a link in your signature that says "I have ____ gear. Check it out: <link to profile gear list>"

 

[xnothingpoetic]

I thought this thread was going to be another lame rant about your pet peeve- but you have a very valid reason, and I too have experianced this with the google search function. Therefore I shall take my gear out of my sig,even though I know not many others will.

.. eh I just looked at my sig and seems like I must have taken it out a while ago.

 

[Samgotit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omega /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is a polite request for everyone who has gear listed in their signature to please remove it! The reason is simple--the signatures show up in search results, and yield MANY false positives when trying to search for previously discussed topics. Gear can be listed in your profile, where there is a special place for it.

I don't think that is correct. I just edited my sig to include a man's name, an actor in the utterly unknown move "Sennenbi", and no hits are returned through the search function. Give it a try. See the bolded name in my sig.

Quote:

Disadvantage: None, unless you feel the loss of a chance to show off your gear in every post. I suggest a simple remedy...make a link in your signature that says "I have ____ gear. Check it out: <link to profile gear list>"

I do agree with you here, though. Not to mention there's a vast category for all of it in the user profile.

 

[Orcin]

Actually, the search feature should exclude signatures. That would also fix the problem.

 

[krmathis]

I have searched the forum numerous times, and am quite sure it only catch actual post content. Not signature and profile content...
So I don't see the problem.

 

[epaludo]

Regarding the search feature, i don't see a problem. But it gets way more elegant just a link in the signature. I've been using one to my profile for ages and it seems way cleaner ...

 

[aaron313]

I've never experienced this, although I only search titles. However, I feel that listing gear in one's signature helps these forums out in a way you perhaps did not realize. I have been sent PMs by several members wanting my opinion and advice on the gear listed. I always oblige with a detailed response, which helps that member out. This is more efficient than starting a new thread. If I only had my gear listed in my profile, members would not see in passing that I might be able to help them.

 

[xnothingpoetic]

If you use the [size=small]Google[/size] search function on head-fi, you will get results from signatures.

Proof. The quote in my sig is rare and I can't even find the original post anymore. I searched first line in the google search box and get only two results. None of which had the line posted in a post, only the sig. (proof)

Granted, two results is pretty bad, considering how long I have had that quote in my sig (many months), but more popular key words would yield more "false-positives". Every so often I see it happen, and it is annoying.

 

[Samgotit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaron313 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've never experienced this, although I only search titles. However, I feel that listing gear in one's signature helps these forums out in a way you perhaps did not realize. I have been sent PMs by several members wanting my opinion and advice on the gear listed. I always oblige with a detailed response, which helps that member out. This is more efficient than starting a new thread. If I only had my gear listed in my profile, members would not see in passing that I might be able to help them.

That's a valid point.

I'm just gun shy. It's really not much of a problem now, but there was a time when more than a few people had enormous, unorganized, sigs.

Let's just thank Sheba pics are not allowed in signatures here. I simply couldn't bear all photos of Fade-of-the-month logos, cellphone p*rn, and screen shots of gamers' kill ratios.

 

[LostOne.TR]

I've run into this via google search a few times also. Just formed the habit of doing google search + site:head-fi.org , maybe I'll try the forum search again if it doesn't pick up signatures.

 

[monolith]

If you can search well this doesn't get in the way, I find. I've never not found anything I've looked for in Advanced Search or using Google.

In fact, I'd prefer if everyone listed their gear in their signatures, though in some sort of compact and organised way (such as myself).

There's no excuse for full size text and lots of line breaks.

 

[-=Germania=-]

^ I agree.

I think that it makes it far easier for individuals who are looking at getting some of the stuff that you have to get your opinion and helps provide more of a background on teh user.

 

[malldian]

I personally would rather read peoples opinions on the gear and know that they own / have had it based on their character or profile and if I have a question about gear I will pose it to the whole forum. The flashy signatures with links to every thread you've posted in or the 300 teams you are in seems to be overkill but if I cared that much I would turn signatures off.

Google search wise, its pretty easy to find what you are looking for with a little patience.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Signature listings don't turn up in my searches, either. I use the forum search tools, not Google.

I like having gear in signatures, especially if done in a compact, unobtrusive way. When I read opinions and reviews, I like to see the poster's frame of reference considering his other gear. Someone who has listened to many headphones praising one is much different from someone eargasming over their first "good" headphone.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaron313 /img/forum/go_quote.gif However, I feel that listing gear in one's signature helps these forums out in a way you perhaps did not realize. I have been sent PMs by several members wanting my opinion and advice on the gear listed. I always oblige with a detailed response, which helps that member out. This is more efficient than starting a new thread. If I only had my gear listed in my profile, members would not see in passing that I might be able to help them.

Yeah, thats a valid reason to keep gear listed in the signatures.
I get quite some of those emails as well. Stax specific ones, which may be caused by me listing assorted Stax gear in my signature.