The purpose of this thread is to determine the relevance of having information such as Religion, Signature, Activity, etc. Do you take the time to read a user's information so as to try and understand the way they posted the way they did or do you simply ignore it.
Yes, I do take the time to read a person's profile, most of all the Religion information because it gives me an idea of their perspective on certain issues. I also tend to look at age when it is available, and the member's reason for being on the forum. The signature I usually dont pay too much attention to.
I always look at the basic information of new members, if only so that I can understand some of their points of view. Such things as age, religion, and region all have relevance in how a person thinks and acts.
Although I do often refer to the profile information displayed with each users post, I don't do it automatically. Generally, if I read a response that seems different to me, I will check their religious listing to see what they claim in that respect. I might also look to see from what country they hail. Rarely do I look at more than that.
I just love the mini post profiles (when they're actually filled out), and delight in many of our members' signature tags. I only wish the allotted sig space was a little larger. For instance, the full version of mine is supposed to read, "No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced."
The new political veiwpoint is interesting. For the record, NO, I am not an anarchist. That choice just seemed daring and fun. I'm more of a mixed bag. It all depends on the particular issue. I'm not one for drawing definite party lines.
I have recently added a shop item that gives you a chance to have a signature up to 300 characters max. Yes, it is expensive, but that is only because it is not something I am all that fond of at the moment, but the demand and hints for it seems to be high.