Comment by gyomu

4 days ago

Signatures seem to be completely useless. Like you, my signature has devolved into a squiggle that is never the same, and it has never mattered.

I remember experimenting as a bored young adult with my first credit card, before tap to pay, when you often had to sign with a stylus on a terminal (in the US) - I would sign something different every time, sometimes nonsense, sometimes a little drawing, sometimes writing “Obama” or “Einstein” to see if I’d get a call from my bank or something - never did.

Maybe there was an era when actual matching signatures mattered, but it seems long gone.

I guess if you’re a celebrity signing autographs then it matters.

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gyomu

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ACCount37  4 days ago

I've seen a suggestion that a signature is now nothing but a signal. An agreed-upon way of communicating "this is serious and binding". Being able to point out that a signature was faked in some cases is a rare side benefit at best.

If papers were signed, then something was agreed upon. A trade performed, a commitment made. If no papers were signed, then it's just idle talk.

  • IAmBroom  3 days ago

    That's all it ever has been; it was dressed up as a legible, personally-styled literal composition of one's name for a few centuries.

    Many of the signatures throughout Europe's premodern era were crosses - anyone can make a "t" shape, everyone knew what it meant (and what it implied, morally), and it was as valid for this William as it was for that Henry because it was witnessed by state-recognized authorities (Notaries, if you will).

    Egyptian signatures weren't written BY the person signing, but if you had your own cartouche, ain't nobody faking that... Wax seals only had names written in Latin print. Thumbprints were used in China, and handprints in paleolithic France.

    Modern web interfaces give up on the "draw something like your signature with this janky software" bullshit, and fall to "just type your own name and we'll assume it's you."

    All are societally-recognized authentic signatures.