Signature and Avatar Guidelines

Maelstromers!

I know that everyone loves their profile pictures and their signatures, but I really need to stress the importance of RESIZING. This means that avatars and signatures must fall within a certain width and height, otherwise it will stretch the board. Normally this wouldn't be a problem because there is an automatic re-sizer in place. Unfortunately, I've noticed that board loading tends to be slower when people with large avatars and/or signatures are present.

There's really only one guideline to follow, but I like bullet points so here you go:

Avatars:

• The maximum size is 100x100 pixels. You may go smaller, but any larger and resizing is in order. If you have difficulty resizing or cropping them yourselves, get someone else to help you.
  
  
• Try to use an avatar that is related to your character.
  

Signatures:

• The recommended size for a signature would be 600x500 pixels. Obviously you can go a little lower but if the site is telling you that it's automatically resizing your signature then we have a problem. Again, if you need help resizing, ask someone. Don't wait for an admin removal.
  
  
• Signatures that are taken from other people need to be credited. Either at the bottom of the signature or next to it. If the signature already has a link to the creator, then that's fine. If not, please please please credit the work.
  

Please try to re-upload the image you are using. In a nutshell, avatars and signatures load slower when you're linking directly. Here are some good sites to use:

www.imgur.com
www.photobucket.com
www.imageshack.us
www.tinypic.com

I don't expect everyone to see this immediately, but I'll be checking up on profiles every now and then. I'll be sending a message to any members that have not done this. Failure to comply will result in a removal of the picture with no obligation for an extra warning.

Thanks for reading and happy writing!

~ Ashe.