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Recently I noticed one user adding giant MathJaX segments to his/her comments, in a way that looks like a signature:

Ex:
\$~~~~~~~\$Comment, blah blah blah. \$~~~~\style{font-family:wingdings;font-size:400%}J\$

I'm mostly asking because I want confirmation that this behaviour is frowned upon.

Image of second comment

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    \$\begingroup\$ Great idea! Now I can make my comments stand out above all the others and get extra attention. Of course I'll have to get a bigger signature than this user since I need mine to stand out above his. Other people may try to muscle in and use even bigger signatures, but I'm here enough I think I can keep up making sure my signature is always the biggest and most eye catching. \$\endgroup\$
    – Olin Lathrop
    Jun 10, 2012 at 12:12
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    \$\begingroup\$ @OlinLathrop, your name at the end will always make my eye jump to yours, but I hate dealing with flags on comments so it is better I read your comments first,and sometimes they are pretty hilarious, to avoid having someone have to flag it and send me back to read it later. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kortuk
    Jun 10, 2012 at 14:43
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Kortuk - I covered the name, but I really don't see the point. Several of the people here have mentioned the user in question explicitly, as well as one of the answers. Furthermore, the example links tell you who the user is. \$\endgroup\$
    – Connor Wolf
    Jun 11, 2012 at 0:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ @FakeName, I did not mean it in any significantly bad way, since we are discussing sight policy in the long term this might be brought back up and removing the specific user makes sense here, we are discussing site policy, not the actions of one user. I was asking you since I assumed you had the image still, otherwise I would have done it myself tomorrow. I am cleaning out the names everywhere else. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kortuk
    Jun 11, 2012 at 0:27
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Kortuk - I appreciate that you try to see questions independent of persons, but in this case it's a bit silly IMO: that guy did everything to attract attention, and everybody has seen his comments. They were impossible to overlook. \$\endgroup\$
    – stevenvh
    Jun 11, 2012 at 5:13
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Kortuk - I see. Anyways, I did still have the image, so it wasn't too much of a problem. \$\endgroup\$
    – Connor Wolf
    Jun 11, 2012 at 5:15
  • \$\begingroup\$ @FakeName, thanks for that. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kortuk
    Jun 11, 2012 at 5:36
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Kortuk: If he didn't want mention of it strewn about the internet, then he shouldn't have done it. Protecting this guy from others seeing what a twit he was is silly since he was in fact being a twit. Whatever embarassment he gets from this is deserved. \$\endgroup\$
    – Olin Lathrop
    Jun 11, 2012 at 12:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ @OlinLathrop, No, the point of meta is to discuss site policies. Albeit in this case there was a specific user, the reason we discuss on meta is for site-wide policy discussion, as I said below it seems to have been done with the best intention although we did not like it, he was having fun playing with some feature of math-jax, what is there to be embarrassed about? There is just no value in singling out members and discussion member choices on meta in what we consider their errors, why not instead just focusing on improving behavior. This user did remove his comments of his own volition. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kortuk
    Jun 11, 2012 at 12:12
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    \$\begingroup\$ @OlinLathrop: No need to go around insulting people for inconsequential gaffes. This isn't Usenet. \$\endgroup\$
    – endolith
    Jun 11, 2012 at 15:38

3 Answers 3

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Definitely frowned upon, as far as I'm concerned. I saw those comments too, and I planned to ask This user not to do this anymore. Think of what a mess SE would become if everybody starts to do this.

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I will note, on the signature where he used a smiley face he had just been giving negative feedback to a use in what might of been more blunt then expected and used a smiley face to make the comment kinder. I would prefer people were over nice then be taken as rude, but, in general, comments take enough screen space already, we dont need them populating even more space.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Don't we have emoticons for that? :-) \$\endgroup\$
    – stevenvh
    Jun 10, 2012 at 19:03
  • \$\begingroup\$ @stevenvh, not saying it was the best way, but at least one had a good intention. I though that yours was the best answer to this situation, but I think that more leniency goes with better intentions. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kortuk
    Jun 10, 2012 at 21:45
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Not only is it "frowned upon", you should edit the post and remove the sig.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Can't edit comments. Only thing that can be done is flag for mod. \$\endgroup\$
    – Nick T
    Jun 11, 2012 at 16:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ @NickT: Oh, I didn't notice the word "comments" for some reason. I guess telling them not to do it is the only thing you can do? \$\endgroup\$
    – endolith
    Jun 11, 2012 at 18:08
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    \$\begingroup\$ The mods can edit comments. You have to just Flag and let them do it. \$\endgroup\$
    – Connor Wolf
    Jun 11, 2012 at 21:36
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    \$\begingroup\$ @FakeName, I edited you comment and replaced "signatures" with "comments". :0 \$\endgroup\$
    – Kortuk
    Jun 12, 2012 at 14:39

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