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I'm really quite stunned at the majority of answers here (okay, and pleased too.)
Although from my standpoint, a sig line or avatar can serve as a more discreet way of letting people know I am an author. It is very uncomfortable to be unable to recommend my own work on appropriate threads. It also does make me feel unwelcome. I GET it. I know why it can't be allowed. But I still have this feeling of not belonging and of not being wanted as a contributor. Any other profession you can mention what you do. If you're a writer on just about any forum (and I mean sewing forums, gardening forums, soap forums and ESPECIALLY reader forums) you have to be very careful about how you mention it. Some forums are okay with it and don't think anything of it. Other forums assume it's advertising just by the mere mention of your career choice.
What is very strange to me is that on one of the soap making forums over half the participants sell the soap. It's ASSUMED you sell soap so people posting about new soaps or recipes are just part of the regular posts. It's one of the few places where the attitude toward selling is a little more open. On the sewing forum, it's kept to a special spot and sig lines are monitored pretty carefully so that links don't go to sites that sell fabric/products/etc.
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