# Avatar holdouts: going to stick to your guns or eventually get one? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 15, 2021, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022 "2021-04-15T01:21:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/82 "2021-04-18T02:18:05Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And I’m never going to watch _Avatar_ , either. Aww, best show ever! if you mean The Last Airbender (not the movie) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/83 "2021-04-18T03:13:35Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > > [@CardboardBoxx](#): > > > > Frodo: Frodo Baggins from the Spectrum computer game > > Close!, it’s the one from Interplay that came out in 1990 not the one for the Spectrum in 1982 🙂 It reminds me of Leo Gorcey, from the Dead End Kids. Except in color. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/84 "2021-04-18T03:18:45Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > > [@running\_coach](#): > > > > Neither the lips or eyes are human. > > The eyebrows are a tad scary also. And the cheekbones are suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/85 "2021-04-18T04:13:25Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > On my chosen theme, it appears that I don’t have anything. I’ve been given to understand that it’s visible on other themes, but since I never see those themes, it makes no difference to me Out of curiosity, I tried uploading a fully transparent blank png file as my avatar. I wanted to see if it would display **nothing** other than whatever background color each user’s theme was set for. No luck. It instead displayed as a grey and white checkerboard. I would have shared a link to the image for you if my test was successful, and then you could have deprived everyone of seeing anything at all! It looks like there may be some Discourse settings which could be tweaked to make a truly transparent avatar work, but it might be more trouble than it is worth. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/86 "2021-04-18T05:26:32Z")
Emphasis added: > [@Mijin](#): > > For so many years we essentially didn’t have this functionality\* because it would **clearly lower the tone or whatever.** The core argument against avatars was basically that discussion was the important thing, and avatars (and other graphics) were just distracting. I was vigorously against them. But I finally admitted that, _within limits_, they added a bit of color, could be fun and clever, and didn’t seem to detract from the discussion. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/87 "2021-04-18T05:52:45Z")
I fully agree with the argument against the kind of highly distracting avatars and graphics that you see on some forums. e.g. [Here’s](https://forums.finalgear.com/threads/forums-have-been-upgraded-to-vbulletin-5.3541398/) a random vBulletin board with totally unacceptable distractions IMHO. They even have huge graphics in signatures. Nobody in their right mind would want the SDMB to look like that. But the old SDMB had reasonable avatars, and Discourse has done it right, so that the avatars and graphics enhance the board rather than detracting from it. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/88 "2021-04-18T07:29:02Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > The core argument against avatars was basically that discussion was the important thing, and avatars (and other graphics) were just distracting. I was vigorously against them. I believe you, but I wouldn’t say the argument was put that way by most of the people against it. My recollection is of many threads requesting avatars inevitably ending with a mod, or even Cecil using his nom de plume, declaring that avatars were for babies or whatever, and that this was a forum about _ideas_. If it was just about them being distracting, that would have probably been a more productive conversation. Heck, a compromise could have been to have them toggleable via an option that was off by default (and as I say, the script monkey method was far short of the convenience and reliability of such an option). Anyway rant over, we’re in the brave new world now 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/89 "2021-04-18T17:07:52Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Has it occurred to you that LOTS of people actually DO access the board on their phones? I’m reading the board on my phone and I have **zero** trouble seeing and distinguishing any of the avatars in this thread. Has it occurred to you that your settings are not what LOTS of people here are using? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/90 "2021-04-18T17:09:00Z")
Same here. I don’t see any distinction between avatars on my iphone and on my chromebook. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/91 "2021-04-18T17:34:21Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > My recollection is of many threads requesting avatars inevitably ending with a mod, or even Cecil using his nom de plume, declaring that avatars were for babies or whatever, and that this was a forum about _ideas_ . Out of curiosity, I went back and looked at some of those old threads debating avatars (and there were many, some with hundreds of posts). I’ll link a few below if anyone’s curious. (It’s ironic seeing all the avatars displayed in an old thread about why we don’t have avatars). Lynn\_Bodoni’s post early in the first linked thread sums up many of the reasons against. A lot of people who opposed enabling avatars (and other images) did so out of fear of what _might_ happen: people might post inappropriate images; bandwidth issues might slow down or break the board when displaying all those images; the boards could become cluttered and horrible-looking like other forums that people have experienced. Now that we’ve had avatars for a while, I think that, mostly, these fears have not been realized (which is not to say that things might not have been different a decade or two ago.) > [@Avatars](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594): > > I checked off to see them, but I don’t. I don’t see anywhere to enter mine. Safe to say this board doesn’t use avatars? > [@No Avatars Here? Why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626): > > How come none of us can have picture avatars at this forum? Who here wiches they had an avatar? i do > [@Avatars](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/819133): > > Hello! I am new here and was wondering if avatars are disabled on this site? I saw in the CP the option to see other people’s avatars, but I’m not seeing any in threads nor the ability to upload my own. > [@Avatars: Yay or Nay?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353): > > It appears the powers-that–be will be updating the board software soon. Personally, I’d love to see avatars employed. I find it to be a great way to identify and remember other posters than by just their username alone. It’s also a nice little way to attach some personality and say a little something about yourself. But I’ve seen other users lament their existence. Why is this? Is it merely bandwidth, or do you find them ugly and or of little use? ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/92 "2021-04-18T18:05:37Z")
> [@Retzbu\_Tox](#): > > Out of curiosity, I tried uploading a fully transparent blank png file as my avatar. I wanted to see if it would display **nothing** other than whatever background color each user’s theme was set for. No luck. It instead displayed as a grey and white checkerboard. I just changed my avatar to a transparent PNG, and it works. I don’t know what went awry in your case. I’ll leave this up for today in case anyone wants to download it. My regular Snoopy avatar has a transparent background, and I know other Dopers have done similar things. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/93 "2021-04-18T18:08:02Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Same here. I don’t see any distinction between avatars on my iphone and on my chromebook. Avatars on my iPad and iPhone 8 are displayed identically, proportional to the screen. Phone view of avatars is clear. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/94 "2021-04-18T18:08:18Z")
I believe that one of the reasons given, late in the life of that old board, was that The Powers That Be weren’t going to entertain any major updates such as avatars because the software was wonky as hell. Of course this didn’t stop some from asking over and over again why they couldn’t have avatars, as if they could wear down TPTB into giving them what they want. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/95 "2021-04-18T18:21:48Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > In the context I’m thinking of, nobody knows what a kimstu is, not even me. So it’s not this? [![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/scaled/2012/05/31/article-2152762-1362E98C000005DC-478_308x185.jpg) ](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/scaled/2012/05/31/article-2152762-1362E98C000005DC-478_308x185.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/96 "2021-04-18T18:26:50Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > I just changed my avatar to a transparent PNG, and it works. I don’t know what went awry in your case. I’ll leave this up for today in case anyone wants to download it. Thanks. Downloaded. I doubt I’ll use it, but just in case. My objections to avatars was that they can become cliquish. There’s probably no way to avoid that. I haven’t seen people use them for that here yet, but I’ve seen it happen in most places. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/97 "2021-04-18T18:28:03Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > but I’ve seen it happen in most places I’ve never seen that happen. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/98 "2021-04-18T18:33:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I believe that one of the reasons given, late in the life of that old board, was that The Powers That Be weren’t going to entertain any major updates such as avatars because the software was wonky as hell. I think this was it. But Discourse seems quite robust and uses the avatars in a way that is informative. > [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > My objections to avatars was that they can become cliquish. There’s probably no way to avoid that. I haven’t seen people use them for that here yet, but I’ve seen it happen in most places. > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I’ve never seen that happen. Nor have I. (But I don’t get out much.) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/99 "2021-04-18T18:33:27Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > And I think they’re so small as to be just smears mostly. I sure can’t distinguish enough to catch any inference or connect with the reference it makes. IMHO the problem isn’t with the concept of avatars, which I think add a nice touch of customized visual appeal, but with posters who cram too much detail into them which then gets lost in the thumbnail size. It often works best if you use a simple drawing or symbol rather than an actual picture. **[There’s a good thread here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-its-time-to-have-me-an-avatar/932929)** on the evolution of an avatar, in which some of the issues with that thread’s OP’s original ideas are discussed. The OP eventually came up with a pretty good one, and then @BigT stepped in and edited the image to make it bolder, and added colour. In the end, @Senegoid ended up with a very distinctive and recognizable avatar. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/100 "2021-04-18T18:41:16Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I’m mostly text-oriented, but I like to have some kind of **visual differentiator between members** , even if I never inspect it closely enough to understand it. Avatars are good. For a while, I strongly considered asking @Senegoid to use an avatar in The Quarantine Zone, as they had the misfortune of having a pink S (they have a non-default avatar now) which made me want to avoid threads where they posted. That has since resolved itself for other reasons. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022/101 "2021-04-18T19:35:20Z")
> [@DMC](#): > > For a while, I strongly considered asking @Senegoid to use an avatar in The Quarantine Zone, as they had the misfortune of having a pink S (they have a non-default avatar now) which made me want to avoid threads where they posted. That has since resolved itself for other reasons. I didn’t understand any part of this post. Why is a pink ‘S’ a misfortune, why did it drive you from threads, was the resolution due to facing your fears or because the pink S went away? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-holdouts-going-to-stick-to-your-guns-or-eventually-get-one/940022.md?page=6)