Thank you badges are a lovely gesture, and they have a bonus - for many people it is how they discover new things on the site.

But for some of us, there are just too darn many. :)

It's not that I don't believe in thanks - I actually feel pretty bad for not thanking. But I'd much rather be creating new things (and loving new ones!) then spending all my time on old ones. (So really, every template I make is really a little "Thank-You" from me to you - that's how I choose to give back. :) )

I know that there are other people who feel the same way, but the current site layout and zeitgeist has meant that we are invisible; unless we choose to whine and rant, there is simply no way to opt out.

So what to do?

...I decided to try adding a note to my profile page, requesting that people not post their badges. It worked fairly well, but many people skimmed past it in their hurry to get through their own long chorelists of thanks. ...I didn't think there was anything more I could do. The info part of the page was just too far away from the comment field for it to be useful.

And then, the amazing Toffee Sprinkles suggested an alternate solution: using CSS and fixed positioning she wrote a short but fabulous bit of code that you can see in action on my profile page. Trust me; you can't miss it! :) :) :)

So, if you are like me, and would like to join the "No Thank-You Club", just copy and paste one of the following code snippets to the top of your profile. Feel free to use my graphic or swap it out for your own, I only ask that you leave in the link destination, so that people can click on it and come here.

If you have any thoughts on the subject, either for or against, I'd love to hear them. :)

Love always,
(And thanks for reading! ;) )
-Prax
Thanks again, especially, to the lovely:




Currently Available Styles
(Just click the one you want and copy the code snippet to the top of your profile.)


Colourlover stephy has made the best version so far, so I will just c&p her post here:
stephy wrote:

For anyone interested, I made my own badge that is based on CL's interface:



I added 15px to the bottom margin as well as bumped it 10px to the left so it lines up with the sidebar. Feel free to use it, and if anyone wants a version where they can place their own palette/pattern/image, let me know!

Edit: Click for the code! :)

Edit 2: Transparent version (so you can add your own colors and such) is here!

...And for those who want to make it easier to leave comments, there is this lovely variant:

Oh okay! I understand how you feel... I do like the thanking though because it does help me discover new people on the site and great art. I'll go erase my badge. :-)

oh yeah i keep forgetting.. who hates this sort of thing again?? we need to keep a list

It's a really cool tool! btw!

Faeleia wrote:

oh yeah i keep forgetting.. who hates this sort of thing again?? we need to keep a list

I think my hope was that if people who didn't want badges opted in, then no one would have to actually remember. They'd just have to look for a fixed position marker. :)

Oh then quick you have to teach people how to put this sign up :) It's so interesting, but the words are slightly forceful I felt, lol. Maybe STOP should be WAIT!

Thanks Faeleia; I added another copy of the code snippet further down the page so it was easier to see. :)

Yeah, it came out kind of forcefully: I was aiming for something that was ingrained into people's memories, and a stop sign seemed fairly universal.

...I can certainly tone it down a notch or six. :)

Fae, she had tried a different wording and people weren't paying attention. She posted the "Please don't post badges on my profile" message in her comments twice yesterday, in addition to having it up on her profile for a few days in big, bold letters, yet people continued to post badges. So, the more forceful wording seems justified to me. :)
As for me, I think it's perfect the way it is.

Faeleia wrote:

Oh then quick you have to teach people how to put this sign up :) It's so interesting, but the words are slightly forceful I felt, lol. Maybe STOP should be WAIT!

I feel like making an alternate version that goes 'STOP! ...and stare.. you start to wonder why you're here not there.. '

I actually used this nifty function to have a 'quick jump to leave a comment' useful buttons I see on anna and mouse's page.. (if you don't mind me using the code..)

Excellent idea!

Faeleia wrote:

I actually used this nifty function to have a 'quick jump to leave a comment' useful buttons I see on anna and mouse's page.. (if you don't mind me using the code..)

Hi faefae,Heather!!!!!!

'quick jump to leave a comment' button's code

Click and see! I hope this will answer your needs......

hana*


OrigamiMei wrote:

Excellent idea!

Faeleia wrote:

I actually used this nifty function to have a 'quick jump to leave a comment' useful buttons I see on anna and mouse's page.. (if you don't mind me using the code..)

Hi faefae,Heather!!!!!!

'quick jump to leave a comment' button's code

Click and see! I hope this will answer your needs......

hana*

Bwahahaha I have been longing for this code for a long while and was too stupid to figure it out! thanks for sharing hana! <3

I don't mind badge postings at all. But I do mind when they link big pictures of their patterns and the original inspiration as well. I like when they post just the badge because some people play the same game I do and thread through colourlovers hopping through things you like and finding a link (either a colour, pattern, palette you like) to another thing to like until you run out of things to love and fav. Sometimes if I stop on a specific person, I can see the badges posted and keep going. It's fun. But links to external images irritate the heck out of me. I loved your pattern and/or palette because I already looked at it. I don't need another bigger picture of it. Just the badge is great tho.

I feel the same as Liebling. :) I love getting thank you badges, but just the badges (the occasional small inspiration image is okay, though). Not to sound like a grump, but it gets irritating seeing the bigger pattern images all the time in the sidebar (especially when people post two of them, which I don't get)..

wow Leibling said what I have been trying to get across on my page for a long time now! I have been using this on my page to no avail:

Badge friendly! <3 But please don't put huge pictures. I do delete occasionally if it is too obnoxious. No offense. ;)

I think another version of praxi's stop sign would be great!

gibbygirl wrote:

wow Leibling said what I have been trying to get across on my page for a long time now! I have been using this on my page to no avail:

Badge friendly! <3 But please don't put huge pictures. I do delete occasionally if it is too obnoxious. No offense. ;)

I think another version of praxi's stop sign would be great!

Agreed! I'd use that sign too!

I've got two more.
If you want to use one, just click on it and copy the code into your profile. :)

sweet, thanks! I'm using one of them now :V

hmm when I click the blue one I don't get any code... :/

Perhaps I am the devil's advocate, but I have to comment that I LOVE the larger images in the sidebar, and in my comments area (and those of other lovers' pages I visit)...they add enormously to my pleasure in the site. I am impressed by the lengths to which some lovers go to design visually appealing thank you notes. These expand my experience of all the colourful and talented people who contribute to the site. I would be greatly disheartened to see them go away because they are annoying to some people, such that other people might feel discouraged from posting them. To me they are valuable information and inspiration.

The eye-catching notifications that prax has so thoughtfully designed for personal profile pages are an excellent step towards resolving this issue (and I thoroughly notice and respect them), but this still doesn't address the problem of those who feel distracted by the sidebar. I can see why it would feel like visual overstim to some, so I'd like to second the suggestion that each lover could push a "sidebar option off" button. Clearly everyone has a varying tolerance for sensory input, this way, we could all carry on with our preferences without the fear of offending or inconveniencing others, and compromising their experience of the site...

Gibby: Sorry; I accidently put up a version that other people could edit. It's fixed now. :)

@Twister: Well said! :)