# Avatars **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 28, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594 "2011-07-28T05:25:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/261 "2011-08-03T16:09:09Z")
> [@Ed\_Zotti](#): > > We see no great advantage to avatars and a number of downsides (among them, my skin will crawl), so have no plans to add them at present. What do you think are the downsides? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/262 "2011-08-03T16:19:44Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Since we’re now prohibited from saying just about anything but a “yes” or "no " response in the poll Giraffe posted, my response to a post by **I Love Me** goes here. Don’t pin that poll on me, that was **bucketybuck**. I’ve been wisely staying out of this one, figuring my time was better spent cultivating a glorious neckbeard. ::strokes beard:: ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/263 "2011-08-03T16:28:40Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Don’t pin that poll on me, that was **bucketybuck**. I’ve been wisely staying out of this one, figuring my time was better spent cultivating a glorious neckbeard. > > ::strokes beard:: Sorry 'bout that. By the way, you’ve got a crumb or something in there. Yeah, right there, about eight inches below your chin on the right. Yeah, your right. Yup, there. Okay, you got it. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/264 "2011-08-03T16:39:03Z")
Well, it’s only been a day, but I’m enjoying my SDMB with avatars. Some of you now appear with your gallery photos or other images you’ve provided. Some of you I’m remembering your place of origin by assigning you avs of flags or coats-of-arms or pictures of landmarks. Otherwise I might assign pics that reference either a screen name or some aspect of personality, in my interpretation. As far as I can see, I’ve got all the practical benefits of avatars from a reader’s perspective, with no sanction from anybody, no images that don’t make sense _to me_, and no chance of impacting anyone else’s experience. It might not be everybody’s, but it’s some kind of ideal. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/265 "2011-08-03T16:46:41Z")
> [@Ed\_Zotti](#): > > We see no great advantage to avatars and a number of downsides (among them, my skin will crawl), so have no plans to add them at present. Thank you, Ed. No snark at all when I say that I appreciate your honest response. It’s your board and you simply not liking them is reason enough. This is much better than making up bs reasons that have been shown not to exist. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/266 "2011-08-03T17:08:06Z")
> [@Amblydoper](#): > > The same damn ignorant arguments get drawn out every time this subject comes up, and we beat them down with common sense and knowledge for pages and pages. Eventually, we all get tired of going around in circles and give up, leaving the SDMB without avatars until the next thread pops up… > > Can one of the anti-avatar mods just lock this thread now? Well, this is on page 6 and still going strong. How long until everyone gives up this time? PS. \*\*Avatar \*\*- Movie was “meh”. I mean, c’mon now. Floating mountains? 6-legged beasties? Blue monkeys? Dances with Wolves meets Apocalypto? (Obligatory Avatar - The Movie! jab) ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/267 "2011-08-03T17:54:08Z")
> [@Ed\_Zotti](#): > > We see no great advantage to avatars and a number of downsides (among them, my skin will crawl), so have no plans to add them at present. If it helps at all, it would probably mean more people for the Barn House, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/268 "2011-08-03T17:56:17Z")
> [@Ed\_Zotti](#): > > We see no great advantage to avatars and a number of downsides (among them, my skin will crawl), so have no plans to add them at present. The advantage would be that they’re fun. Why do you hate fun, Ed? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/269 "2011-08-03T18:40:35Z")
**Czarcasm** , don’t you think you were a little harsh on **Red Barchetta** in [IMHO](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=618729&page=2)? He’s totally wrong in his opinions, but he wasn’t “debating” the question. He was clarifying his previous link, and I think that was appropriate. eta: The **elbows** warning was _entirely_ warranted. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/270 "2011-08-03T18:47:42Z")
**This is what it boils down to:** I would most likely pay to have an avatar and to see the avatars of other posters. And nobody _ever_ has to see my avatar unless they want to see it. A move to the somethingawful-style of purchasing avatars or signatures would be a great business decision. Do you want my money or not? ---
**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:** [August 3, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/271 "2011-08-03T18:57:37Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > **Czarcasm** , don’t you think you were a little harsh on **Red Barchetta** in [IMHO](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=618729&page=2)? He’s totally wrong in his opinions, but he wasn’t “debating” the question. He was clarifying his previous link, and I think that was appropriate. > > eta: The **elbows** warning was _entirely_ warranted. There was a disagreement between **elfkin477** and **Red Barchetta** as to whether **Red’s** figures were misleading. After **elfkin477** made his accusation I told one and all that this conversation(and debating in general) belonged in the ATMB thread on the subject, not the IMHO poll, and I said exactly what would happen if it continued. It continued, and I followed through. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/272 "2011-08-03T19:07:08Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > OK, then another example. How about if a poster decided to post an avatar making a parody of someone’s username. They then posted after them continually. The poster may not be aware of it happening, but other people will be. If other people commented on it because it became obvious, should it be modded? > > Since the poster being parodied didn’t see it, was he harmed at all? Why are you asking if this should be modded? I don’t see why not, just like anyone would be modded for creating a sock to parody another poster for any reason. Why do you think stalking will suddenly become wildly more common because avatars are allowed? You can come up with wildly implausible scenarios all day long, and my answer will still be, “well, in the unlikely circumstance where that happens, I guess the moderators will deal with it.” ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/273 "2011-08-03T19:11:47Z")
> [@Revenant\_Threshold](#): > > If it helps at all, it would probably mean more people for the Barn House, too. Or more money if people have to pay for them, as per the Something Awful model. What do you have against money, Ed? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/274 "2011-08-03T19:13:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > There was a disagreement between **elfkin477** and **Red Barchetta** as to whether **Red’s** figures were misleading. After **elfkin477** made his accusation I told one and all that this conversation(and debating in general) belonged in the ATMB thread on the subject, not the IMHO poll, and I said exactly what would happen if it continued. > It continued, and I followed through. Your exact words were “take the debate about this subject to the ATMB thread.” My post that you “moderated” wasn’t a debate. Even the OP agrees it was harsh, whose rules you were (presumably) intending to enforce. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/275 "2011-08-03T19:18:39Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I told one and all that this conversation(and debating in general) belonged in the ATMB thread on the subject, not the IMHO poll, and I said exactly what would happen if it continued. Just out of curiosity, why even make that ruling in the first place? What is the point of a message board thread where you aren’t allowed to discuss the positions put forth by others? Think about it: you’re creating an atmosphere where ignorant statements are protected, and fighting ignorance is punished. \ Poster A: I voted for poll option X because whales have three eyes! Poster B: No, whales only have two eyes. Czarcasm: No debating! Warning!! \ Not to mention the fact that threads containing nothing but restatements of how people voted in a poll are dreadfully uninteresting. IMHO is one of my favorite forums. If you’re going to randomly insist that some threads be nothing but a listing of people’s opinions with no discussion, you’re going to ruin it. Please don’t ruin IMHO. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/276 "2011-08-03T19:20:16Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > The advantage would be that they’re fun. So wear a party hat when you post. 😛 Seriously, there seems to be something psychologically deep going on here, where some people have a gut-level, skin-crawling aversion to the very idea of avatars, while others passionately lust after them, when it doesn’t seem like it ought to be a big deal either way, on the surface of it. I would love to hear the theories of armchair psychologists. Do those who want avatars have a desperate need to assert their identities, to express themselves in a way they find impossible using only words? Are those who are opposed, loath to have their own (and others’) identities summed up with a logo or silly image? Is this really a battle between the visual people and the verbal people? the attention whores vs. the wallflowers? style vs. substance? the sensation-seekers vs. the easily overstimulated? branding vs. … whatever the opposite of that is? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/277 "2011-08-03T19:21:13Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Do you want my money or not? Avatars are certainly a better source of revenue than distribution of malware and spyware. Hey, it needed to be said. Ed, I know it’s your site, but outside of ATMB you really don’t participate here that much. Why would you be bothered by avatars that you can turn off, on a site you really don’t seem to frequent that often? ---
**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:** [August 3, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/278 "2011-08-03T19:24:38Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > Why are you asking if this should be modded? I don’t see why not, just like anyone would be modded for creating a sock to parody another poster for any reason. Why do you think stalking will suddenly become wildly more common because avatars are allowed? You can come up with wildly implausible scenarios all day long, and my answer will still be, “well, in the unlikely circumstance where that happens, I guess the moderators will deal with it.” If it needs to be modded, then it adds to the mods’ workload. I ask because there are message boards where it wouldn’t be modded. I suspect, given the rules here, that it would be, as you note in your response. It’s also an example where someone that doesn’t have an avatar could be affected. I don’t necessarily think that stalking will become wildly more popular. It’s just one more way to do it that would need to be modded and that might affect people who are not participating. Without avatars, that particular method doesn’t exist. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/279 "2011-08-03T19:27:02Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Just out of curiosity, why even make that ruling in the first place? What is the point of a message board thread where you aren’t allowed to discuss the positions put forth by others? Think about it: you’re creating an atmosphere where ignorant statements are protected, and fighting ignorance is punished. > > \ > Poster A: I voted for poll option X because whales have three eyes! > Poster B: No, whales only have two eyes. > Czarcasm: No debating! Warning!! > \ > > Not to mention the fact that threads containing nothing but restatements of how people voted in a poll are dreadfully uninteresting. > > IMHO is one of my favorite forums. If you’re going to randomly insist that some threads be nothing but a listing of people’s opinions with no discussion, you’re going to ruin it. Please don’t ruin IMHO. 1. There was already a discussion going about the subject in ATMB. 2. People (mostly in support of avatars) had already posted multiple times in the poll thread, and it was becoming a duplicate of the ATMB thread. 3. When a moderator says “stop”, the proper response is to stop. If you wish to dispute the order, take it to the proper forum(ATMB)-do not debate it in the same thread, and do not ignore said order. 4. There was absolutely _nothing_ stopping **Red Barchetta** from linking to the appropriate ATMB thread and clarifying matters there. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594/280 "2011-08-03T19:29:49Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 1. There was absolutely _nothing_ stopping **Red Barchetta** from linking to the appropriate ATMB thread and clarifying matters there. Except that there was no reason not to because it didn’t violate the rule you put down, being as it **wasn’t** a debate. It’s pretty clear to me you just had an ax to grind and made a mistake, as a couple other posters have pointed out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatars/590594.md?page=15)