This forum's signature & avatar input

[CarpeDiem]

I keep looking for how to put in my signature & avatar in this forum at simplemachines.org, but no matter how many times I check my profile, there's no place to input this information.  Account settings only has name, password change, language, secret question, but no way to add a signature, avatar, time zone, or other information which I see other people using here.

So, where's the hidden doorway?  I missed it (duh)!

[karlbenson]

You need 10 posts.

This is to prevent spammers coming to add links in their signature.

[shadow82x]

http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=250251.0

[CarpeDiem]

So that's the secret handshake!  I'm a very experienced forum person, and this is the first forum that hides such details in my own experience.  I'm used to being able to set up everything right away after the email confirmation, but here, that's not the path that's laid out for newcomers.

I've not set up SMF on my website yet, as I'm just seeing how the forum actually works here before I commit to setting it up for my users.  Is this the same default my users will encounter if I use SMF for my website (i.e., will my users be forced to wait until 10 postings too), or is this adjustable?

Thanks for cluing me in.  Now I don't feel stupid for not finding it (that's how I felt, and I looked again, and again, and AGAIN).  It was deliberately hidden from my view (I didn't overlook it like I thought I had -- thank goodness!).  Time to walk the dog...so I'll stop growling.

[Trekkie101]

CarpeDiem, SMF will not by default do this, however its VERY easy to set up with our permissions system

We do it here as recently we've had a rather large focused human spam effort to post a ton of useless links, and this is one of the only ways to beat a human being.

[CarpeDiem]

Links being called spam is a new one for me and I hope to understand what is meant by it, especially since I intend to set up a forum myself.

I've read the entire manual from start to finish (well, scanned or speed-read might be better terms), and I'm now seeing what the forum really looks and feels like before I make a decision for my already existing websites.  A variety of things puzzle me, but I'm open to learn from those experienced journeyers who've tread the path before me here.  I followed up on the link given by Shadow82x and learned from a few of the postings in that thread.

Thanks for the quick responses!

[Trekkie101]

Links being called spam is a new one for me and I hope to understand what is meant by it, especially since I intend to set up a forum myself.

Its basically the same as junk email, lots of links to non-safe websites with some accompanying text to make it seem like it fits in the discussion.

SMF has a good number of features built in to protect against automated spam attacks and some exceptionally strong modifications to aid in blocking spam, however since it can only protect against bots, humans have the ability to beat this. That being said, 90% of forums will not be spammed by humans.

[CarpeDiem]

I notice a certain number (quite a lot sometimes) of postings that seem to have little value to the thread under discussion (or of any general value either), but the posting person has lots of sometimes-curious links and big pictures out-shouting anything they say in the text message area (it reminds me of buildings with great-looking facades but little inside the store).  Maybe these are OK, maybe not.  I personally find that when threads I am reading have many of these types of postings (lots of form but little substance) which add little-to-nothing to the discussion, I tend to glaze over them and sometimes need to use the scroll control on the right side of the screen to fly by all the high-five's and hear-hear's that are just uninformative blather to me, as they only appear to benefit the posting person or their friends, but not the general reader of the discussion (unless the thread is asking "Do you like this?").  I'm afraid these blather-based postings are more a way to build posting numerics than a contribution to the thread's discussion.

The bogus or malicious links are the problem here in this thread it seems, not the blather.  Personally, though, both seem a nuisance.  Too bad there can't be a reasonable trimming of posts that seem not to contribute to the thread so it doesn't grow large with emptiness (at least, on my websites, that's what I intend to do since I will make it clear in my agreement that everything will be moderated for reasonable and useful content, with a challenge of my decision always being available when I notify the person I'm trimming their posting).  I hope SMF's controls will allow me this facility as an administrator of my own forums.

[Trekkie101]

They certainly do allow that sort of control

[oldrow]

I was about to ask the same question lol

[CarpeDiem]

Trekkie101, you sure are right that there are those controls.  It took a little looking around to find them though, since there are many areas for the administrator to use.

I see people use a lot of links and/or large pictures in their signatures and descriptions here at the SMF forum, and I can't help but wonder how that serves the discussion or purpose of the forum (I don't mean this as criticism, since it's allowed and welcome here, so there can't be anything wrong in doing it; I just don't see how it benefits the discussion too many times).  I think it serves the individual who is making the posting and not the larger group; so on my websites, I want to put limits on the use of URLs (though I don't know what an IURL is), links (like email), FTPs, videos, marquee's, etc., which I fear have little to do with the discussion the majority of times.

And oldrow, when you said "I was about to ask the same question", I'm glad you said what you did since it makes me feel not alone.

Now, what I've yet to test out is whether my restrictions on the codes I've set up in my administrative panel show up in what users can actually do.  I'm afraid just hand typing of the proper codes will bypass the restrictions, but I've yet to test that out!

I've also found, by poking around, that the codes which can be restricted in the administrative panel are in two completely separate areas and that the two areas are not integrated together, so I've got to write down on paper what I've restricted on one to make it match what I restrict in the other (it's a good thing paper and pencils have not become obsolete, but it's a shame these two screens under signatures and also under posts can't be more integrated since they list all the same 48 codes in both).

[CarpeDiem]

Ah, that's the difference between URL and IURL.  Thanks.

I did a little digging and found a person who has an SMF forum who said

As I have a Simple Machines Forum, I needed instructions specific to that forum script. Some other forums use different tags like [aname] instead of [anchor] and [anchorlink] instead of [iurl]

so, based on what they said, I now assume that anchorlink=iurl (depending on what forum script is being used) and, with what you shared, I know what they both refresh the current page with new content instead of opening a new tab or window.

Thanks for being SO helpful!

[青山 素子]

We have a full set of info on all the bbcode tags SMF supports over on our Online Manual: BB Codes

[CarpeDiem]

Motoko-chan,

Oops!.  Since you gave me the link and I clicked on it, I immediately remembered seeing it.  I have been through SO much new information since starting SMF, that it just washed out of my short-term recall.  Thanks for refreshing my memory!

QUESTION:  I note that BBC codes don't work when I try to put them into the description area of a board or category on my forum.  In my case, having the ability to put some of the BBC formatting codes, like what we can put into posts, would be useful in board and category descriptions, and I wonder if this might be possible in the future?

[CarpeDiem]

Thanks Arantor,

I hadn't thought of using HTML tags in board and category descriptions since it was inconsistent with the BBC code in postings.

Now that I know, I can roar down the road...

[totemelf]

I was about to ask the same question lol

lol me too,  thanks for your thread.

[totemelf]

I still cant find where to input my signature although i have already posted 10 threads

[totemelf]

I find it. lol many thanks

[Alison Black]

I am very glad that some forums are starting to use this feature. 10 posts before you can make a signature. It is sensible. I have a couple of my own gaming SMF forums and I have used some mods and options to enable this feature for my forums, because when I made my 1st forum, several friends registered, but some people I never knew also registered and of course none of them except for my friends, posted any details that a profile would commonly have, but they did place signatures that led to advertising websites, marketing websites etc and of course being the administrator of my forum, I banned those people by IP, email etc.

I seriously wish that every forum would use a similar system such as this, at least if you know you have to earn the ability to activate certain features of a forum, depending if your a spammer, you might be deterred and leave the forum, or have to spam a lot of quick posts to get the ability to get a signature. With stuff like that, they can easily be caught out quickly. If your a true forum user, then you are proving that a forum is more important for the information you require or the help you need, instead of worrying how good your signature is going to be.

I would like it if this type of function was added naturally to the SMF forum install software. At least if it was, you could then disable it if you wish to, or keep it and then we wouldn't have to download a mod to get the same result, which is what I was forced to do. Oh boy I love SMF Forums.

[Arantor]

I would like it if this type of function was added naturally to the SMF forum install software

Um, it is, and has been for years? Admin > Permissions is a wonderful thing.