Here ya go
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I already voted to enable signatures, but I must specify only at a strict size, with a scrollbar, possibly.
Don’t wanna scroll throught 348234 pics to see next message.
#pagesgang
I’ll say one thing regarding post count and badges. I get aesthetic, I’m not against adding them if people really like them. I would like to see a mock up of how people would expect it to look though (especially on mobile)
The choice of post count and badges shown is not just an aesthetic choice though. Some may have noticed but with the current layout, there is not an obvious hierarchy of who is new vs who is a long time member. This is an intentional design choice that puts all members on a more equal playing field. Arguably it leads to less elitism and more empathy to new members - or at the very least, not treating new members any differently outside of their first post (that is given a little note if you are at a sufficient trust level)
Adding post count and badges to all posts re-establishs the user hierarchy in every post made. I think this is the primary consideration if we were to add these back. As a compromise, I could also alter the design of the user card (when you click a person’s username) to be more like a trainer card with all the post-related badges visible.
Anyway, just wanted to give the reason for why these are not here. I’d be really curious to hear feedback on this especially from newer users
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I have always found that E4 has been very welcoming to new members, and I don’t see the kind of disregard for new members or their posts that is suggested here.
Regarding post count, I just can’t understand why showing that in posts vs when you click on their profile means anything differently in terms of this, or why it even has to be viewed as elitism. Just as you try to grant something abstract to new members you simultaneously arguably take away from older members and their sense of community or contribution, or lore.
There’s already so much new “gamification” in place. It seems weird that a very similar sort was taken away and replaced with others. This brings a sense of reward to people who engage, and I don’t see why it has to be viewed through that sort of lens. I mean, such things that no one asked for, such as “elite topics” were added. You argue against elitism and yet there are “elite topics”. The default way of looking up members is by how many likes they have. It just doesn’t compute to me. I argue earning badges, celebrating the connection to the games, and reminiscent of elite four from the games, being like a trainer, is far less elitism than it is what I am mentioning.
There is a line where if you make everything the same, nothing is unique. This is really all about compromise, about meeting people halfway, in my opinion. It is showing that a great deal of people miss these things. Considering both old and new members.
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I like this point of view.
But just take a look at a bunch of topics and you can see who’s a longtime user or accustomed, no need to “hide” it from newbies like me to feel ashamed or something else…
Also there are messages that betrays what you just said but marrying your own philosophy:
the one saying that User is posting for the first time and should be welcome and the one saying User is posting since a long time from last time or whatever
I get instead the main problem being aesthetic. I wonder how with more than 2-3 badges will the borders become
Well I just joined the forum two months ago so I’ll share my thoughts and y’all can see what you think 
First off, I’m truly glad I hopped onto this forum and I really appreciate the open-arms welcome; the wealth of knowledge, collections and friendly users to interface with is almost utopian and I don’t take it lightly how convenient it is to have all of this at my fingertips (particularly because it hasn’t always been that way; I’m sure people who have been collecting for decades could attest to this).
As a by-product of the current model, I also appreciate that my opinion voiced on my posts hasn’t (at least outwardly) been devalued as a result of my “lack” of credibility with time accounted for on the forums. I have been collecting for a while, just not by the measure of how long my account has existed. I think it’s also a fallacy to assume someone new = invalid information or opinions (not saying you or anyone has suggested that because I have only seen evidence to the contrary, in fact you even explaining this is proof of that enough). Granted, there is a humility with being new that hopefully people are willing to place on themselves with eyes wide open; maybe that is optimistic, but I would never consider myself enough of an authority to come here and start explaining how the Pokemon market worked over the past two decades or the impact of certain staple cards, as an example. Luckily I think this forum does a great job of attracting that type of user, so kudos to you (yes, YOU reading this!).
That said, I do think there is a very legitimate standing and insight people who have been around the hobby for years/decades have to offer, and I personally enjoy hearing what those people have to say. It would be foolish of me to not want to hear the opinion of those who have seen how the hobby/market/collecting/game/etc. have developed over the years, and at a very (potentially selfish) minimum, it’s cheap wisdom. In two months time I have been studying like a dutiful bookworm and I’ve gained a TON of knowledge from the likes of some of these folks (just go check the count of my posts read between now and when I joined the forum 
). In terms of education about Pokemon in general, understanding the market, and experience gained from longstanding members in the hobby, it seems unwise to not put a premium on their knowledge.
I wouldn’t mind seeing how long people have been members here personally, but I understand the merits of the other side of it as well. The good news is those that run E4 can always course correct if something is changed and starts to drift away from what was intended. I don’t think you hurt yourself either way, and you have yourselves to thank for fostering that type of environment 
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I agree with this philosophy (re: hierarchy).
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I think this is all beautifully said.
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For the record, hiding post count beind a click is the philosophy of the people who designed the forum framework, but ultimately I agree with it after giving it a lot of thought
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If we are worried about the clutter caused by signatures, would it be possible to have a banner/signature on your profile page? That way you could express yourself a little more to the people who actually enough care to look.
If introduced, I would prefer it if there was an actual built-in dimension limit for this banner to force some uniformity.
Edit: THIS IS ALREADY A THING??!?!
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Maybe it could be optional to either show the sprite Pokémon or badges earned
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Just echoing what pfm said about post count and badges. The choice to not have them was based on making new members blend more with veterans.
To give a bit of context, I was the one who made the badges a thing back in the day. And I know people enjoy them, myself included, as they can be an incentive to post more. It also is just a cute tie in to progressing in the Pokémon world. Ultimately I put aside my personal preference to try out the idea of evening out new members. But they aren’t off the table. Perhaps having them optional might be the compromise, similar to sprites.
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Is it a lot of work to make it optional?
Like every user can make the choice to see it on their own, by clicking on the preferences.
I agree to be considerate, but I can also understand who’s proud of their time spent on the forum
I love everyone here. I even loved the people who I disagreed with often. I see everyone who joins E4 and engages as friends. We are all brought together by a great mutual hobby.
Does anyone actually feel elite here? I know I don’t. I know I saw very few in my time here. And I don’t think displaying some profile specific information (that is actually totally available with a click anyway) changes any of that.
There was a conversation that happened way back, regarding the elitism thing. I remember the profound majority of members celebrated people’s comments about how we value passion and artwork, lore etc., (example: people’s posts of common cards displayed with enthusiasm) over those who just seemingly flexed value or showed any sense of self importance.
I think letting E4 shine for itself is more important than trying to “force” an issue that isn’t even really there in my opinion.
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The only person I have ever viewed as elite on here is @Quuador because every time I saw one of his posts, he had a million badges, a great signature, and would drop an absolute information bomb and solve everyone’s questions lol
(elite in a good way)
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That’s genuinely IMPORTANCE. Not elite. But a national treasure of a person. I know you are being cheeky but the funny thing is Kevin is one of the people I am making the case for in recent comments, in a sense!
Yes elite in a good way hahah
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Post count could go anywhere on the left column. You even mentioned that the screen will get wider down the line, the left column could be more refined that just an open space. Have a box of some sort where more than just post count could be placed. As for mobile, the badges aren’t a challenge. They would occupy the same space.
The post count is more challenging since the profile pic gets squished inward. Maybe right below the profile pic in between post text and pic.
Think of the flair man. It looks really good. Especially if the profile left column had some simple, elegant design, and especially even the screen widens out and opens the potential up a bit. Maybe below the post count also include extra earned badges like art contest, like “member is online” etc.
Pardon the crudity of the sample. I am trying to get used to gimp software instead of photoshop and it’s hard.
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good stuff. I appreciate the options, but ultimately, I just want to say thank you!
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A lot of these poll answers are very interesting!
I think it can be hard to change at times, especially since many of us had been on the old forum infrastructure since we joined (for me, it was eight years). But I think for things like signatures, the new forum is so much better with the built-in link options. In the past we had to have a bunch of rules about what you could put in your signature, how big it could be, etc etc. Now we get to have the most common links in an unobtrusive manner.
On post count, I do not mind either way. We are well past the craziness of 2020 where perhaps it was necessary to be slightly “elitist” in order to maintain the forum as distinct from Facebook and Instagram. I also don’t think it discourages people too much and there is a usefulness and rewarding aspect to showing post count. We should not mistake post count for knowledge, however.
One thing I think we all somewhat take for granted is that if we do decide to implement changes, it’s even possible to do so. The old infrastructure was incredibly limiting in what it allowed us to do.
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What if for post count, only posts with a certain threshold (such as 5+ likes) are counted? I think adding criteria to this gives visible merit to user input. @Quuador is a prime example of one with high quality posts and high like count