What's new

Signature. Yay or nay? (1 Viewer)

Adam Barratt

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 16, 1998
Messages
2,345
Real Name
Adam
A friend of mine has recently discovered that I post on this forum. Her first comment after reading some of my posts was "Why do you always sign your name? What's the point?" I've never really thought about it, and do it by force of habit now, even though my name is right there in bold text next to every post I make.

Should I do this? Is it a courtesy or just a redundant annoyance? I think I may a get a complex about it now! Her kind gesture of ending every spoken sentence with her name for the following ten minutes didn't help.

Adam
 

Clinton McClure

Rocket Science Department
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 28, 1999
Messages
7,766
Location
Central Arkansas
Real Name
Clint
All kidding aside, there's absolutely nothing wrong with signing your posts in this way. I still sign all my e-mails knowing full well that my name is in the inbox before the message.
 

DaveF

Moderator
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2001
Messages
28,687
Location
Catfisch Cinema
Real Name
Dave
It's a personal trait that further distinguishes your posting style from others'.

I'm sure your friend doesn't flash a wallet photo after every comment either. But here, most posts conclude with a "signature" block with some photo or quote. What's sensible in meatspace doesn't necessarily parlay to cyberspace :)
 

Chris Lockwood

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 21, 1999
Messages
3,215
Seems like a really odd thing to comment on- I don't think either way is necessarily better than the other.
 

Joseph DeMartino

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
8,311
Location
Florida
Real Name
Joseph DeMartino
User names (and e-mail addresses) are not always the same as actual names, nor do they always reflect what people prefer to be called. So besides being a hold-over from the days of actually writing notes and letters, signing internet posts has some practical benefit.

Your friend is an interesting example of a common phenomenon - someone who doesn't immediately see a reason for something that other people do and then dismisses it as stupid or useless. I was once driving in a rainstorm when one of my passengers made a comment about how "stupid" the people who turned on their headlights were. "I never turn on my headlights when it's rainy or foggy. I can see the road." I told him that people don't turn on their headlights to see the road, but to make sure other drivers see them. He insisted that it was still stupid, even though it was obvious that it was harder to see the cars without headlights.

Usually when I see a lot of people doing something that I don't immediately understand, I ask myself, "What am I missing" before I ask myself (or someone else), "What's wrong with those people?" :)

Regards,

Joe
 

Kevin Hewell

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2003
Messages
3,029
Location
Atlanta
Real Name
Kevin Hewell
I posted over at Television Without Pity (then MBTV) for a couple of years before I started here and they have a strict policy against signing posts so I just got into the habit of never signing any of my posts.
 

Adam Lenhardt

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2001
Messages
26,972
Location
Albany, NY
I never really understood the point, since it is rather redundant, but it doesn't harm anybody either. At this point my brain just filters it out when people do it.
 

Marianne

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 18, 2000
Messages
855

I don't know about other States, but in Florida it is a legal requirement to have your lights on if your wipers are on.


If everyone stopped signing their forum posts there would be a lot more room on the internet!
 

Greg_S_H

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 9, 2001
Messages
15,846
Location
North Texas
Real Name
Greg
I don't see a problem with it, but maybe she'd accept your signing your posts more if you made it a palindrome:

 

Adam Barratt

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 16, 1998
Messages
2,345
Real Name
Adam
It looks like I'm stuck with the signature. I thought I'd try making a few posts without it just to see how it felt, but I ended up putting it there anyway (not quite subconsciously, but verging on it)! Strange, as I usually post without it outside the HTF.

Adam
 

Cees Alons

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 31, 1997
Messages
19,789
Real Name
Cees Alons
Adam,

It's more, I think, than just "letting people know the identity of the writer".

As an example: when I would write a letter to my late mother, she'd probably know long before she reached the end where my name was who the letter was from. (1) At the back of the envelope (absolutely necessary, especially on letters to women, or else they may accidently tear the letter apart while opening the cover to find out who it's from), (2) the words "Dear Mom" narrowed the possibilities considerably, (3) several cues during reading, (4) finally expecting a letter by me anyway.

Sometimes the name or names of other parties are added to signify the fact that it's on behalf of not just the one writer. On typed letters, it's often the only part done by hand.

And it's not just meant to identify the writer: it's also a way of "formally" taking (at least some) responsibility for the text as written.
"I have said".


Cees
 

Brandy S

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
116
Real Name
Brandy
Nope, it's pretty dorky to sign your posts. They aren't emails or any kind of formal letter. Most people don't even care who posts what.
 

TonyD

Who do we think I am?
Ambassador
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 1, 1999
Messages
24,249
Location
Gulf Coast
Real Name
Tony D.
i often find that i look through a topic to see who made the post, this helps me decide who's posts i actually read.

for awhile i thought it was a requirement that anyone named steve must sign off with... -Steve

this is because almost everyone named steve signed off that way.

i'm not bothered by those signing off with their name, although it does seem redundant.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top