Just a thought, what if people could just use links that direct to images instead of plastering them in the signature... and people who donate can just have the images in their sig..
I agree with the fact that, at the very least, signatures need a size limit. This is a rule that we do not have, and should, either built into the forums or otherwise. (I checked for it before using my slightly-ridiculous gif as a signature; did not see any rule. Since it was smaller than a lot of common signatures on the forum, I went for it. Eheh.) I am conflicted regarding making images restricted to donators. On one hand, it might reduce clutter and encourage donations. On the other hand, I've seen a number of non-intrusive, small images being used in signatures that were really nice. Most of all, though, I'm disturbed by the potential new trend of donator "perks" simply being permissions we strip away from forum members and restrict to those that donate. I'm really hoping this doesn't become a trend, because that would be a really lame thing to consistently do. I would even call it scummy. Again, this is with the assumption that this becomes a trend, which I am hoping it does not. In this case, it may not be a bad idea. Not sure about it. Just posting my thoughts on the matter.
(Dangit, can't edit posts. Sorry for the double-post.) I would, however, like to reiterate that we do need some restrictions on signatures and how large they can be. They can get a tad ridiculous in terms of size. I at least agree with that. Not sure about character limits though. Doesn't really help if someone's using a super-huge font, and a super-small font isn't really obtrusive at all. That said, restricting fonts and colours is also kind of sucky. (The latter would quite certainly be going too far.)
Could also create a new section in the rules, directly relating to the forums. Stuff like no fonts over a certain size, for instance. While not exactly that, most other RP server forums I've been on have had forum specific rules because stuff like this does happen.
While I agree that gigantic signatures need to go (And I'm even considering scaling down my own), I do not believe that fully restricting signature image functionality is the way to go. I certainly understand the vital need for cash flow, since the server does not maintain itself for free. But taking a functionality that a wide number of members use and stating that they now have to pay for it, I feel will mostly have adverse effects on the user base. Those who would have donated anyway will still donate. Those who have not donated, will likely be annoyed and shrug at the loss of the function, and continue not donating, mainly because the feature itself isn't really necessary to roleplay. I would doubt anyone would leave over it, but I do not think you will score a ton of popularity points either. Especially not among the userbase that does not have a lot of disposable income to donate in the first place.
bbcode restrictions? probably just large text. image restrictions? keep everything under 300px tall, and that'd be good, i think. again, we have the spoiler tag, which is kinda useful. i had that largeass sig once, and i put it under spoilers. but idk i like jay's idea of having a total size limit for sigs.
I am fine with playing the signature police so long as guidelines are clearly laid out for the players.
I agree with the either the overall size limit, or image restrictions. I think text should be left alone, but maybe a size limit for text too? Just something the mods have to watch out for? This is just my opinion, I honestly haven't been bothered by the large signatures I see, just means more scrolling for me, which I don't mind.
