Policy:Signatures

## Rules & Guidelines

### Signature Use

* Signatures should be applied to any comment a user makes to another user's talk page, an article's talk page, a forum, or a project talk page.
* All signature coding should be placed on a user sub-page. To learn how to do this see the section below.

### Signature Content

* Personalized signatures may never be used to impersonate another denizen of the Wiki. (In other words, do not purposely copy the style and color scheme of another user's signature, and by no means may you use another user's name instead of your own.)
* Signatures MUST contain a link to your user page and your talk page. Linking to other things such as your editcount or contributions is not required, but is allowed.
* The text that links to your userpage must bear some resemblance to your actual username, *UNLESS* it is a nickname that you are *very commonly* known by. Example: If your username is "Gazelleleap123" it would be acceptable for your signature to say "Gazelleleap123", "Gazelleleap", or even just "Gazelle" if people shorten your name to that; having it say "Fluffy Unicorn Pegasus" would be unacceptable.
* A signature must have only 5 words of text or less, not counting one's username.
* Personalized signatures must be made in colors that are readable against the default background colors used on Gazelleleap's Tale Wiki. (What is readable is decided by your peers. Should any user have a complaint against your color scheme, it will be heard by the Sysops and acted upon.)
* Signatures may not contain vulgarities of any kind, including slurs against any race, creed, religious group or sexual orientation.
* Signatures may not contain external links.
	+ *EXCEPTION*: Outside links to a users' Primary profile on another Wikia are acceptable to increase contact ability.
* Signatures should not contain images.
* Signatures should not be changed excessively often. This is to prevent confusion from people constantly having new signatures and others being disoriented by the change.

## General Use of Signatures

### Signature & Date

The Signature & Date combination is what will see the most use. Signature & Date should be used when signing talk pages, forum posts, and most other applications that call for a signature.

**CODE**

```
~~~~
```

### Signature

A signature is used in situations where a date adds nothing (such as signing off on a project task).

**CODE**

```
~~~
```

## How to Use a Custom Signature

A user can customize their signature by going to the Preferences page and altering your settings as instructed.

### Steps

* Create a sub-page to your userpage called `[[User:(your username)/Sig]]`. (To make the subpage, just click here) Put all the coding for your signature on this page and save it.
	+ At the bottom of your sub-page put the following code: `<noinclude>[[Category:Signatures|{{PAGENAME}}]]</noinclude>` to properly categorize your page. Please note that *using the "categories" box on the side view will screw up your signature when you use it, so remember to manually add this code to the "Source" view window.* This includes moving it back there anytime you edit your signature page.
* Make sure there are no stray characters or extra line-breaks in your signature coding, just to be sure.
* Go to the *My Info* tab in your Preferences page.
* Make sure the check-box saying "**I want to use wikitext in my signature**" is checked.
* In the signature input box, put `{{Nosubst|User:(your username)/Sig}}`. This will allow your signature to work like a normal template and not substitute its code onto discussion pages.
* Remember to click "save" on your preferences page to save the changes!

### Tips

* Remember to include a link to your userpage in your signature if you've clicked the *Raw Signatures* button.
* A direct link to your talk page is always a nice inclusion. To do this, simply add ([[User talk:USERNAME|Talk]]) to the end of your signature in your Preferences. The color of this can be changed using the following code.

## Adapting signature for multiple wikis

We know that this signature policy is not present on all wikis that you may edit at, so there is a simple solution to allow you to use a signature that abides by this policy here, but a non-templated signature on other wikis. If you need to do this, put the following code in your sig box (changing "USERNAME" to your username):

```
{{subst:#ifexist:Template:Nosubst|{{subst:Nosubst|User:USERNAME/Sig}}|here put what you want your sig on the other site to be, coded normally }}

```

Of course using this method takes up many characters, not leaving many for the coding for your other signature. If you store your sig in a sub-page on other wikis as well (but you will have to create "User:USERNAME/Sig" there as well and put all the signature coding on that page) then you can solve the length issue and still keep separate signatures on different wikis, with this code:

```
{{subst:#ifexist:Template:Nosubst|{{subst:Nosubst|User:USERNAME/Sig}}|{{User:USERNAME/Sig}}}}

```