[mdlug] [OT] Perspective

[A. Kalten]

> Huh? First of all, an electronic "John Hancock" is *not* a "bona fide
> signature". Where did you ever get that notion? Whether it's done by
> using a cursive font or by scanning a handwritten signature into an
> image file, that electronic version is not your legal signature. In
> fact, putting such a thing in an electronically submitted document
> file just makes you look silly, because there's no need for it. I've
> never seen it required anywhere.

LaTex is not ordinary used for electronic exhange (although like
anything else it certainly could be).  LaTeX is used to produce
a material piece of printed paper (think of it!) that is then
physically translocated through space and time (think ot it!)
to its final destination.  In this case, a signature file included
in the LaTex source would not be unreasonable.  It would save
the producer the extra task of manually signing his name on the
final product, and such time savings could be significant if LaTex
were being used to create a large batch of letters.

Silly?  Well, that is a matter of subjective taste.  It may not
be required, but in the business world a human signature does add
a professional touch to a letter document and that simple gesture
can often make a great difference.

After all, we are speaking about the world of business.  Protocol
is often paramount and much "silliness" continues to abound.  Let
us consider the neck tie.  What is the point of a neck tie?  It serves
no purpose.  It's function is purely decorative (depth psychology
aside) but its absence can be anathema in many business contexts.
One could argue that a neck tie is "silly" but that argument would
fall upon deaf ears in the business universe.

> No, it isn't. It's dead simple actually:
> http://mywebpages.comcast.net/micorral/latexsig.jpg

The image is not positioned correctly.  It should be moved
over toward the left.  That's how a human being would do it.

Also, the signature is much too jagged.  That must be the result
of resizing.  You should always use potrace (potrace.sourceforge.net)
to make it smooth and natural.

Another thing, the size of the signature and the thickness of 
the individual characters is out of proportion with the text size.
Would a human being sign his name like that?  Only an awkward
child, perhaps.  Use a smaller, thinner signature or increase
the font size.