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If you want I can remove the banner from my signature or substitute it for a smaller one, if there is something in the forum rules I have missed.
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If Grahame wants I could always design a skin for the coffee shop free of charge.
Many thanks for the clarification on your own forums and their intent. I'm sure you appreciate that it's usually better to ask for clarification than to regret not asking the question later!
We have not laid any rules / guildelines down on this forum with regard to avatar size, advertising in signatures, etc, but we do reserve the right to bring in such guidelines if need be. Actually, we already remove posts that include pictures of an erotic nature, links to such sites, advert URLs for viagra, betting, shoes and certain other products; such posts are characterised by being made by "one hit wonders" who sign up from the purpose, and one feels that they come from such distant countries that they would find it hard to place London and Bristol on a map. And there have been one or two cases where something has been a little outside the norm here. Pointing our to someone that their signature is big and bright to the extent of being irritating (and putting people off them) has usually done the trick.
I've made a note of your web background / skill CV, but at this point I'm going to thank you for your offer, and decline your invitation to put together a fresh skin for the site. I'm aware that it's pretty standard
SMF▸ with few changes at present. However, in the particular field we're in I'm very happy that the surrounding artwork almost melts away to provide a comfort zone for our posters, rather than giving a more strident, jazzy approach.