External Links And Signatures

I have only been a member a couple of weeks and I have already inadvertently broken the rules twice; both involving signature and external links. So let's see if someone can set me straight once and for all.

1. I have a website which shows a couple of stamps but is definitely not philatelic. Once I reach a hundred quality posts, will I be able to put it in my signature like this?
Tony Vella
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
http://xxxxxxx.ca

2. I have a couple of blogs which are definitely and solely philatelic. Anyone familiar with blogs knows that the corresponding URLs are longer than War And Peace and very often get broken. So for convenience sake I created a couple of tiny URLs. The first time I used one (a shortened URL) in a post, it was removed with a note that external shortening of URLs was not permitted. Was this because I had less than 100 posts or is it prohibited period?

I have sent notes to staff for clarification on these points but never received any response. So I come to the group. I thank all in advance for all assistance.

1. Yes

2. External URL shorteners are not permitted at all. They are too much of a security risk. The forum software automagically removes the known ones. Have a look here for a solution.