How come none of us can have picture avatars at this forum?
Who here wiches they had an avatar?
i do
Because we are a group of conservative old farts who miss the wild and woolly days of USENet.
We know people by their ideas and spelling skills, and not on what picture they can find to put up next to their names.
there’s no polls here either.
Sure there are. In the forums where polls might be useful. Read the Forum Descriptions - I have taken the liberty to Report your post for a forum change, About This Message Board is the best place to ask about board culture and mechanics.
You are correct. At least in this forum.
Straight Dope should move to Xenforo, or it could move to Forumotion.
Forumotion is free, more modern, and more customizable. here is an example of a forumotion forum.
http://urbaniteforums.halofight.com/
We also cant post pics and vids here either.
Just to clarify: you’ve just joined this forum today, a forum that has been here for years, and you want to change it?
Why did you join it if it’s not to your liking? There are roughly 7,9374,892,768,934 other forums out there with all the avatars and flashing lights you need.
To publicize the other fora he finally linked to, of course. It looks like this thread is going to be deleted, rather than moved.
Hey, don’t get pissy I was just making suggestions. I actually think this is one of the tbest forums on the webs because of its well built community.
It has many members, quick response times, and actual comments. I was just thinking of the software. thats all
The issue has been thrashed out many times.
Basically, some dopers feel that avatars would lower the tone – even if they have to be manually enabled per-user, and would be off by default.
It’s quite an irrational position IMO, but unfortunately it is held by several of the mods, so it is not likely to change any time soon.
More’s the pity because I do find that avatars make it easier to keep mental track of who said what.
The software is vBulletin. No need for new software; it handles avatars and plenty of other stuff just fine. The SDMB has chosen to turn them off.
We don’t need no stinkin’ avatars. 
Since a great number (possibly the majority) wouldn’t even bother to use avatars, this isn’t a very convincing reason. On other boards that allow them and that I had to go to the trouble of turning on myself, I notice a great many who don’t bother, and those are boards far less “conservative” than this one is.
This forum might be good like that because it has no avatars. The lack of avatars might attract people who form a good community like this.
Early in his career, James Cameron slighted one of TPTB here. Thus, no avatars. Ever.
And this “reason” is the other side of the fence. I hope you were joking.
Personally, I’m capable of reading without the assistance of pictures.
And without moving your lips and without tracking your spot with a finger? Wow!
Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.
Avatars also end up being nothing but one copy-write infringement after another. On a forum that actually cares about such things, why bother adding policing avatars to the workload.