Signature character limit error

Arch

So, this is the current code for my signature

[QUOTE=Psycho Internet Hawk;17893072][url="http://youtu.be/GPH9qZ8yvLI"]Arch I like that no matter what game you're playing, your playstyle inevitably revolves around bugs and monsters and generally ugly things.[/url][/QUOTE]
PSN: Zinnar2 | [url="http://www.twitch.tv/rzinz"]A TWITCH STREAM FOR ANTS[/url] | 3DS code: 4742-5997-1992 | [URL="http://www.angryfangface.com/?page_id=582"]avatar source[/URL]

I'm trying to update it, because some of those links are dead....and I've switched avatars as well.

I keep getting an error message saying my signature is "92 characters too long," even when using the signature I already am currently using....which doesn't make sense, unless I'm missing how this is getting calculated or I'm counting wrong on my end.

With all the BBCode, my signature is 365 characters without spaces, 402 with spaces. If I strip the BBCode, the signature is 186 characters without spaces, 220 with spaces.

You'll note that some quick math puts none of these numbers anywhere near something that makes sense.

I see that the maximum allowed space is 180 characters, and obviously I'm breaking that rule. That being said, 180+92 characters is 272 characters which doesn't match to anything I've calculated on my own.

Anyone know what's going on?

Tube

Unless I'm reading you wrong, the issue is that 180 characters is the limit and your existing signature has been grandfathered in.

Arch

No, that's fine, I get that. I was just more confused about how the character counts don't seem to add up.

My current signature is 402 characters, yet the warning box I get when I try and edit it tells me it is "92 characters too long"

Take a look at this picture.



My current signature is either 402 characters, or 220 characters depending on how the signature box counts BBCode. Subtracting 92 characters from that either puts me at 310 characters, or 128 characters.

I guess my point is that I don't understand what the box is counting as a "character". Does it count spaces? BBCode? Why doesn't it say "Your signature is 40 characters too long"? Is that a product of being grandfathered in, that it screws up the math?

Arch

So, in an effort to figure out my own question, I played around a bit. I removed all the BBCode from my signature, and found that adding a new line adds a lot more than one character to the signature, something I wasn't aware of.

In the first image, everything is one line, and the numbers basically match what they should be, about 40 characters too long.



In the second image below, I've added a new line after the word "things", and it added 13 characters to the signature.



If this is intended behavior, then go ahead and close this, and mark it as "Arch didn't know something, whoops, sorry!"

Tube

There's an explanation for this, it's come up before. I'll be fucked if I remember what it is though. Maybe @Iruka remembers?

Iruka

I believe there's also a line limit, I dont really remember how its calculated, it might be artificially implemented by just inflating the number of characters a line break is worth. I dont believe there's a bug at play here, just messaging that's a bit non specific.

Arch

Huh. Interesting. Thanks for the info, guys.