# Avatars: Yay or Nay? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 14, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353 "2008-05-14T22:47:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/341 "2008-05-24T01:00:04Z")
Oh, good lord. Try taking the whole thing a little less seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/342 "2008-05-24T03:03:26Z")
[QUOTE=Gozu] Nay for reasons previously mentionned. People should be judged on what they write, in a text message board, your avatar is your name, and it is infinitely flexible. [/QUOTE] > [@me](#): > > Either way-they’re just avatars, people. Jeez. Dude, if you’re this concerned about being judged on a message board, by the user pictures, you’ve got issues. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/343 "2008-05-24T04:02:24Z")
[QUOTE=Gozu] People should be judged on what they write [/QUOTE] Why this limit? ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/344 "2008-05-24T06:47:01Z")
To quote the Mighty Thor, “I SAY THEE NAY!” I used to really like avs, and really flashy sigs and the like, but in recent years most of my time has been spent on boards like this that lack those features. When I do go onto boards that have them, I now find them REALLY annoying. So much so that I often find myself resorting to adblocking the av and sig images (which aren’t really ads, but hey, it still works). ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/345 "2008-05-24T14:48:54Z")
I vote no. I don’t really care all that much either way, and have used avatars on a few other boards, but they just don’t matter much to me. Animated, flashing, blinking monstrosities are damned annoying but I’d guess those aren’t under serious consideration anyway. Static images? Meh. The persistently wonky condition of the SDMB tips my vote firmly in the ‘nay’ category. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/346 "2008-05-24T17:15:35Z")
[QUOTE=TVeblen] I vote no. I don’t really care all that much either way, and have used avatars on a few other boards, but they just don’t matter much to me. Animated, flashing, blinking monstrosities are damned annoying but I’d guess those aren’t under serious consideration anyway. Static images? Meh. The persistently wonky condition of the SDMB tips my vote firmly in the ‘nay’ category. [/QUOTE] Me too. It’s not an issue that keeps me awake at night but anything that degrades the efficiency of the boards even slightly isn’t welcome. So a nay for me too. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/347 "2008-05-24T19:06:19Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Sorry 'bout that. [/QUOTE] No biggie. [QUOTE=Guinastasia] But then, pretty much EVERYTHING’s being repeated here again and again. [/QUOTE] You’ve got that right, **Guin**!!! Especially “you can turn them off.” I think I’ve heard that once or twice. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/348 "2008-05-25T01:00:12Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] You’ve got that right, **Guin**!!! Especially “you can turn them off.” I think I’ve heard that once or twice. [/QUOTE] Even if you CAN turn them off, it makes the Board run slower. Has that one been mentioned yet? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/349 "2008-05-25T03:15:22Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Even if you CAN turn them off, it makes the Board run slower. Has that one been mentioned yet? [/QUOTE] I don’t know. All these repeated posts are making the thread run too slow to check. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/350 "2008-05-25T11:24:30Z")
Another vote for ‘no’. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/351 "2008-05-25T21:59:21Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Even if you CAN turn them off, it makes the Board run slower. Has that one been mentioned yet? [/QUOTE] I think someone also mentioned how pathetic it is to worry about 100K extra data in a page download. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/352 "2008-05-25T22:52:46Z")
[QUOTE=CarnalK] I think someone also mentioned how pathetic it is to worry about 100K extra data in a page download. [/QUOTE] Any chance of a link to that post? ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/353 "2008-05-26T23:08:58Z")
It’s not the 100k extra data that concerns me, it’s the fact that I don’t like avatars. But of course, I do like smilies, so my judgement may be suspect. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/354 "2008-05-27T04:36:38Z")
First, my vote would be no for avatars, but as long as i can turn them off and dont have to use them, i wouldn’t object. [QUOTE=Siam Sam] Even if you CAN turn them off, it makes the Board run slower. Has that one been mentioned yet? [/QUOTE] A technical question here about the issue of bandwidth, server capacity, etc. In vBulletin, do the avatars have to be hosted on the SDMB’s server, or is it possible to hotlink an avatar which loads from an external site? For example, could i activate an avatar and designate my avatar as [mywebsite.com](http://www.mywebsite.com/avatar.jpg) , and have the image appear in the SDMB? Because if that were possible, and the images loaded from external sites, it shouldn’t be a drain on the SDMB server. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/355 "2008-05-27T06:04:32Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] In vBulletin, do the avatars have to be hosted on the SDMB’s server, or is it possible to hotlink an avatar which loads from an external site? [/QUOTE] It’s not a vBulletin option, but it can be done. Takes some hackin’ though. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/356 "2008-05-27T14:44:15Z")
[QUOTE=Vetch] > [@CarnalK](#): > > I think someone also mentioned how pathetic it is to worry about 100K extra data in a page download. Any chance of a link to that post? [/QUOTE] That was **CarnalK** himself in [post #202](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9812906&postcount=202) [QUOTE=Slacker] It’s not a vBulletin option, but it can be done. Takes some hackin’ though. [/QUOTE] But as I mentioned upthread, it would be a complete loss of control for the mods and admins. Anyone could change avatars to anything at any time, and then change them back if they got called on it. “What do you mean my avatar was goat porn? No it wasn’t.” If someone produced a screenshot, the perpetrator could simply claim the screenshot was photoshopped. Hosting avatars elsewhere wouldn’t necessarily lead to the downfall of civilization, but it wouldn’t be pleasant, either. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/357 "2008-05-27T15:30:49Z")
[QUOTE=Bites When Provoked] But of course, I do like smilies, so my judgement may be suspect. [/QUOTE] Would you be okay if we got rid of the smileys and replaced them with scowlies? ---
**Author:** ![Corner\_Case](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corner_case/32/234_2.png) [@Corner\_Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corner_Case)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/358 "2008-05-27T18:10:22Z")
[QUOTE=Sierra Indigo - in post 4] I’d really prefer not. I like the interface of the board. It’s simple. Without a lot of the visual noise you get on other websites. The same reason I’ll keep paying even (if) when we go free-to-post. I just don’t like flashy flickery things all over the place. Plus then if a hotlinked image is removed (when the poster leaves or whatever) you end up with those horrible red x’s everywhere. [/QUOTE] Me: Ditto. PTB: “Ditto?” “Ditto,” you provincial putz? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/359 "2008-05-28T09:22:04Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Would you be okay if we got rid of the smileys and replaced them with scowlies? [/QUOTE] With a username like this? I think I could live with it. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars-yay-or-nay/449353/360 "2008-05-29T20:51:01Z")
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