Index: modules/forum.module
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/drupal/drupal/modules/forum.module,v
retrieving revision 1.260
diff -u -r1.260 modules/forum.module
--- modules/forum.module	1 Aug 2005 05:14:05 -0000	1.260
+++ modules/forum.module	15 Aug 2005 04:06:29 -0000
@@ -538,6 +538,8 @@
  * Implementation of hook_form().
  */
 function forum_form(&$node) {
+  global $user;
+  
   if (!$node->nid) {
     // new topic
     $node->taxonomy[] = arg(3);
@@ -554,7 +556,7 @@
     $output .= form_checkbox(t('Leave shadow copy'), 'shadow', 1, $shadow, t('If you move this topic, you can leave a link in the old forum to the new forum.'));
   }
 
-  $output .= form_textarea(t('Body'), 'body', $node->body, 60, 20, '');
+  $output .= form_textarea(t('Body'), 'body', $node->body ? $node->body : $user->signature, 60, 20, '');
   $output .= filter_form('format', $node->format);
 
   return $output;