For cases of abuse or mass spamming it is grounds to have the account immediately banned. For other cases it is usually discouraged but is tacitly allowed.

--jeremy

Separate issue than the one raised, however I agree with you. That said, I also agree with Sefyir. Many times someone has stated "see the links in my signature" as the sole text of their reply and if yet someone else comes along looking for a solution to the same problem, then that post becomes less than helpful if said person has viewing signatures disabled. Perhaps the "see useful links in my signature" should be just as taboo as the zero reply killing useless reply.

Hi...

Which is partially not true. I did not create the ardvark69 account. Back in 2003, I created the ardvark account to ask a question or two and in 2015 I created the ardvark71 account having forgotten that created the previous account until I accidentally signed into it one day by accident. I request that in the future you verify the facts before you post such information.

Besides, why is that such a big deal if I have more than one account?

Regards...

Again, not entirely correct. I said I do that in part. To spread the Good News isn't my sole purpose for being here, I also liked to help out answering questions, which all of us do for free, usually with no appreciation. If I simply wanted to post banners telling others about Jesus, do you think I would have spent all this time here attempting to help others with their technical issues?

Regards...

Because it is against LQ Rules, but if Jeremy doesn't care, then I sure won't either. And since you then did 'remember', why didn't you continue with the original account? And amazingly, today, after it being brought to light, the ardvark69 account is suddenly not viewable anymore.
Really? I don't think I said it was your SOLE purpose, did I? Please, point that out. In the future, I request you verify the facts before posting.

And quit splitting hairs...you said "As far as the greetings go, yes, absolutely!"...the go on to say that aside from the 'good news', you like to greet people; TOTAL COINCIDENCE that you get to share 'good news' at the same time, right?
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ml#post5552503

The VAST number of your posts fit one of three response types:

• Welcomes
• The "just as a friendly hint, you may want to change your user ID" posts
• And the "while I can't answer you, you should post your version of linux/lspci/lsusb/whatever-generic-command so that someone else can"

Frequently ignoring a posters question (usually in the intro forum, where you don't address the question at all), or removing someones issue from the zero-reply list, making it harder for them to get help. Again, the forum rules apply to you, too...specifically, these two:

1. Do not post if you do not have anything constructive to say in the post.
2. When posting in an existing thread, ensure that what you're posting is on-topic and relevant to the thread. If the content of your post will interfere with the current discussion, you should start a new thread.

Jeremy can correct me if I'm wrong, but a response to a technical issue that consists solely of "You may want to change your user name" or "This is only for introductions, I've asked a moderator to move it", fit those two rules. This applies if you're doing it to share your 'good news'.

3 members found this post helpful.

It's also a problem if that signature is ever changed. Posts are forever. Signatures can be changed at any time. Perhaps the software could detect that a person referenced a link in his/her signature and lock that signature against changes. Hmmm, perhaps not.

I disagree. Default forum configuration is to view signatures. You have to specifically and deliberately *choose* to turn them off. It is *Your* decision and *You* are effectively sticking your head in the sand for part of every reply. That's on you.

Someone coming by a thread and offering a bullshit statement that removes it from Zero Reply list, did so without *you choosing* to have it removed and can cause it to be missed by those of us scanning ZRT. That's a dick move and it's on them.

But one of the things discussed in this thread is switching off signatures by default for newbies.

Yes. We are capable of simultaneously discussing how things are currently and how things should be in the future. Goumba and I were discussing how things are currently to hopefully understand more fully how and what would be affected because of the change... My view at the moment being that turning view sigs off for newbies would be a bad idea.

Then perhaps you misunderstood my statement that you quoted, being as you said you disagree, but it seems like you agree. In fact in my post I did agree with you that the helpful links in a signature were a good idea. I went on to agree with another member who stated that the posts that say simply "see my links" were bad. Maybe that's where you misunderstood?

This is exactly where the problem arises.

I stated that perhaps a reply of "See the links in my signature" should be viewed as bad as killing a zero-reply thread as bad. As I went on to explain, if the signatures are disabled for whatever reason, now that reply contains only that text. As rknichols stated (and he's got a very valid point which I had not thought of), signatures can change as well.

Newbie posts "help, I'm having a problem with XXX." I reply "See the links in my signature." But wait! Signature viewing is disabled for newbies. So now, what has my reply done besides remove that thread from the zero reply list? Someone with more time to spare and willing to have explained better may now miss the opportunity to do so. Even worse now is another newbie with the same problem searches, finds that now useless (at least to him or her) thread. Either (s)he will post yet another thread for the same question (in which someone will undoubtedly reply "someone asked this yesterday, do a search!"), or will get discouraged and see this site as useless.

Unfortunately I don't think there's an easy solution to this one other than community members keeping such in mind.

Ahh. Thanks for elaborating. Much clearer. I Can't say I disagree with your point of view.

As a member of the community, I do not mind multiple accounts AS LONG AS the user isn't pulling a Unidan and leaving reputation on his own posts to fabricate their importance, or using sock puppet accounts to agree with themselves. That's fake and irritating and frowned upon in all forums I'm a part of,..

I'm perfectly content switching .sigs off for my personal satisfaction, but I don't quite feel that I'm sticking my head in the sand either. That's because I do not view them as truly part of the reply. From the little I've seen before I turned them off, they more represent a banner ad, or a rubber-stamped redundancy to make the same point, time and time again. I don't need that, even if it has technical merit. If all a person has to say to me is, "See my signature!" then I'm sure I didn't research my problem well enough in the first place. And I don't need political or religious banter in any circumstance. How many of you have changed your political or religious beliefs because of a bumper sticker you saw on a car? Is a .sig any different than that?

However, I very much like the idea of changing signatures. That could be fun and entertaining... a joke of the day, quote of the day, tech tip of the day, or even a Bible verse of the day (or Quran, or Bhagavad Gita, or Tipitaka, or other). I don't know how long that might hold my interest, but it would put a new spin on signatures, and I'd enjoy checking that out, at least for awhile.

Cheers!

Since signature viewing is currently disabled for people not logged in, this is already a problem (just replace "newbie" with "non-LQ member"/"Google searcher"/whatever).

Changed a belief because of a sig? Never. Have I ever found a link to something interesting or helpful? Yes. For example, when heartbleed was affecting people I changed my signature to let people know it existed and offered a link to a test and a solution. It was a great way to get the word out. Microsoft forums do this as well with security updates and other errata that is important that week or month.

Some people change signatures more often. That's fine as well. The only thing I've changed my mind about in this thread is that perhaps "See the link in my signature" isn't a permanent answer, since signatures can and do change. That has to be used carefully I would say.

You are absolutely right, and an oversight on my part.