Gifs in signatures - ok or too obnoxious?

[Commander Turtle]

I'm testing out my new signature. I have a couple gifs which I think show off MOC features nicely, but I'm worried they'll just be too irritating!

At the moment the height is 150px, which matches the Flickr thumbnails. The other option would be something smaller like this:

Though, then the Flickr icons look rubbish scaled down even more, so it would mean the sizes wouldn't match.

I've seen all sorts of ginormo-signatures in my time here, but I don't want to be the guy that makes everyone switch off their signature view if the animation is distracting.

Edited November 3, 2014 by helloearthling

[Slegengr]

I would have to say that I personally do not like GIFs in the signature. They are very distracting from the intent of the post. Keep in mind that your signature shows up on every single post you make on Eurobricks. Sometimes the signature can be very distracting when it does not relate to a discussion and it stands out too much.

I would also say that this applies to overly-large signatures as well. The signature should be a quick preview and a link to your work, IMO, not a place to force everyone to see what you have done. If everyone had a large signature or GIFs in the signature, discussions would become much less coherent.

Linking to a GIF or large image is fine. Other members have to click the link to activate it. I think GIFs should be fine within your personal topic about a MOC, too, as the distraction is what the discussion is about.

Just my two cents...

[Commander Turtle]

Trying the smaller version. It helps that at half the height, it takes up a quarter of the real estate from when it was larger.

[LegoFjotten]

Animated gifs are just too annoying for me, as well as overly large signatures.

My ignore signature list is getting pretty long these days...

[tomdobs55]

I'm mainly on mobile so I don't see sigs. Whether that's. Good thing or bad thing is up to you.

[Commander Turtle]

Pulled the gif for now. I quite like seeing interesting signatures, but if I'm in the minority then I won't inflict that on others :)

[deraven]

I'll chime in briefly- I don't think they're horrible, but I do find them a bit annoying and would rather they weren't there. Especially if you imagine multiple people in the thread with them… all the sudden the whole page is jittery mess … and heaven help someone who suffers from motion sickness!

[Tariq j]

I have mixed thoughts. GIFs and long signatures can prove to be distracting. Yet on the other hand, They can give a unique and original touch to the overall post.

My advice is this: I personally would not put them on the signature, but if you really want to - don't go overboard. Do a simple 360 degree view of the MOC you would like too show us. If possible try and do it against a white background, that way it doesn't stand out too much. By doing this it means it will make the GiF noticed, but not in an annoying way.

Hope that helps.

[Slegengr]

According to the site guidelines, it specifically states in the signature section:

No animated GIFs are to be used in your signatures.

I only bring this up since someone with authority once decided that GIFs should not be in signatures and I support keeping it that way based on my personal preference.

[Brickdoctor]

From our Site Guidelines:

[...]

Images: [...] Images rarely need to be over 800 x 600, and any that are over 1MB (including GIFs) are not allowed unless there is admin approval. BMPs are never allowed. Avatar images should be 100 x 100 (and under 20k if hosted on EB), and may not be more than 400 x 400 (and 100k, even if hosted remotely). No animated GIFs are to be used as avatars. [...]

[...]

Signatures: As a rough rule, you may use up to four pictures each with a maximum pixel height of 200, a file size of 250k and no more than 200 words. If your sig is bigger than your average post, it can confuse someone reading a thread and you may be asked to reduce it, or a staff member may do it for you. Some exceptions may be made on a case by case basis, but please try to limit the space you use. Font size should be kept to a minimum: ideally no bigger than size 3. No animated GIFs are to be used in your signatures.

[...]

(emphasis mine)