div tag in signatures

[demerphq]

Could someone please tell me why there is now a div tag wrapping my signature HTML?

I ask primarily because I _don't_ use my "signature" just for a signature. I use it to avoid having to type the standard bits of a node so I have all kinds of useful tags and stuff in there (view source on my nodes to see what I have hidden in there.) If this tag will at some point have an effect on the nodes presentation then it will effect all of my node, as it is blithely placed around the full content.

Not only that, but its inconsistently applied. For instance the text box I am typing into now does not have the tag added. However replies do.

Whatever the idea behind this is, I do wish it was communicated to the comunity and discussed before applying it. Then I would have had the opportunity to point the above out and suggest a possible solution (such as a special comment style tag that is transformed into the div if its there, otherewise wrapping as has been added in...)

Anyway, if the whole thing is harmless (then why do it at all?) then never mind me. :-)

---
demerphq

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
-- Gandhi

[chromatic]

This was discussed publicly in Add CSS class for signatures?, where adrianh asked for a way to hide signatures on the client side.

[demerphq]

Ah so. I vaguely recall this node, but I didnt follow the thread. I note that tye raised the very matter that I do, so this was an anticipated issue. I tried embedding the tags into my signature, and it still added them in so the mod he suggested hasn't been included.

I still think that a change like this should have been announced when applied, and that frankly the idea needs bit more work. Ill see if I can do it myself if someone else hasnt gotten around to it by tomorrow.

Thanks for the reply. (And the patch :-)



---
demerphq



First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
-- Gandhi

[Petruchio]

Could someone please tell me why there is now a div tag wrapping my signature HTML?

Well, in the very general sense, it's there because chromatic wrote a patch to put it there, and I approved that patch. It's not likely that the site CSS will ever do anything with it, but it is a hook which individuals could use to change their personal view of the site.

I approved it because it did not make any change to the way people in general see the site, and thus it seemed like a pure win. Had it been a more significant change, prior discussion might have seemed apropos.

As things stand, the change will either be made consistent, or rolled back. At this point it already seems more trouble than it is worth, so I'm inclined to favor the latter, though perhaps someone will make a good case for keeping it.

Update - elided duplicate sentence

[demerphq]

Ok Petruchio. Now that its explained I am fully supportive of this idea. I have posted an updated patch addnewnoteform - (patch) for pmdev that extends it a touch to address the concerns raised by tye and myself and others, as well as adrianhs idea of two tags, one general and one user specific.

In my patch if the special div tags are included by the user in their sig then no modification is done at all. It doesnt add the tag to users without an automatic node signature/template, and it adds a brief explanatory comment telling the suprised user who has overlooked these threads what to do about it all :-). For instance I would see something like:

<!--
Signature Autowrap. Add the div tags verbatim yourself via User Settin
+gs and
they won't be added automatically, and this message will go away.
-->
<div class="pmsig"><div class="pmsig_108447">
<!-- demerphq's signature/node template -->
</div></div>

Perhaps I should have explained in more detail in the comment, or even better when it is applied it should refer directly to a node/thread on the subject.

I will see what I can do to make it more consistantly provided, but this at least will avoid annoyance and surprise with regard to the new feature. (Which I dont think should be removed just because it isn't consistantly applied, its arguable that signatures should not be removable from top level posts and even if that argument is lost this is still a good first step I think.)

Cheers,

UPDATE:
I've added a patch to addnewform in order to make it consistant with my other patch. I believe if both are applied we should have the .sig divs added consistantly and a user friendly way. Obviously this code represents duplication and in fact both pieces should be refactored out into a single routine, but I cant post a patch to do so. I hope this contribution absolves me from whatever irritation those involved feel towards me and my reaction. Cheers again.

[belg4mit]

You're assuming the "surprised use" actually cares to look at the source. Meanwhile you're wasting those bytes umpteen times a day...

In any event, it seems a perhaps more useful case to include in the code is for people like Abigail-II... no div if no sig.

--
I'm not belgian but I play one on TV.

[barrd]

I actually like and support this feature for the reasons adrianh made in his node. I don't really see the problem with keeping it as Petruchio pointed out: "It's not likely that the site CSS will ever do anything with it..." because the actual class name is our own personal home node id.

One other thing of note is that for individuals like me who don't actually have or make use of a sig, the div tags appear anyway... Not a problem really as a Ctrl-A / delete fixes that in a jiffy.

Just my tuppence worth to come out in support of this feature.

[Abigail-II]

I actually find the div thingies annoying. I don't do signatures, so why should I be bothered with those stupid div things? I've decide to just ignore them, and if their inclusion just happens to mess up the layout, well so be it. Perlmonks way of posting is already primitive enough, why make it even harder?

Abigail

[Juerd]

I use it to avoid having to type the standard bits of a node so I have all kinds of useful tags and stuff in there

So do I. In my text box before I pasted and typed:

<div class="pmsig_132236">
<p><blockquote><em>

</em></blockquote></p>

<p>

</p>

<p><font color="#800000">
(actual signature)
</font></p>
</div>

It doesn't really bother me, though. If someone wants to remove my posts with CSS, then now they can :)

Juerd # { site => 'juerd.nl', plp_site => 'plp.juerd.nl', do_not_use => 'spamtrap' }

[perrin]

A note of some kind on the posting page would have been nice. I had no idea this was for signatures, which I have never used, and put the whole text of my reply inside it on several nodes. Maybe people who don't use sigs shouldn't get this extra junk in their message posting forms.

[demerphq]

The patches I posted do not add the tags if there is no signature content. So given what you say you wouldn't see the tags at all.



---
demerphq



First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
-- Gandhi

[adrianh]

The patches I posted do not add the tags if there is no signature content. So given what you say you wouldn't see the tags at all.

Doesn't seem to be working properly then - since I'm seeing it :-)

Also - can I put in a plea to use a "-" rather than a "_" in the class name since the latter isn't legal CSS and can cause problems with some browsers.

[perrin]

It looks like the patch isn't working properly then. I have no sig, and I get the tags with a blank line between them.

[PhilHibbs]

I got exactly the same. First time I deleted the div, second time I put my reply text inside the tags, as I presumed that was what I was supposed to do. It didn't happen this time, though, so I presume the bug has been fixed.