Avatars

[Giraffe]

@elmwood

A very vocal minority of old-school beard-stroking academia-wannabe Dopers don’t like the idea of change, plain and simple. It’s part of the pseudo-academic culture here. They complain even when the idea of adding another smiley comes up. They’re the kind of people that probably raised a stink when their local newspaper started publishing the front page in color in the 1980s or 1990s. I’m amazed we even have the option of choosing fonts and font sizes beyond black 10 point Times New Roman.

I generally like the Dope, but I hate the stodginess. It’ll never change, though, so why bother complaining?

::strokes beard::

On the other hand, why bother not complaining? Shall we give in to the beardless upstarts?

::strokes beard::

[Siam_Sam]

Fuck avatars.

[silenus]

And Avatar was a shitty movie, too.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

@bucketybuck

Thats if you just dont want Avatars. Imagine what they would say if you kicked someones pussy.

I’ve punted pussies through the goalposts at up to 40 yards.

And I don’t want avatars. Or the movie Avatar, which should have been punted for 140 yards.

Bring it on, silly kids who need images to go along with their lips moving when they see a sentence.

[BDBoop]

I got a three day timeout on my last board for even posting a link to Charisma Carpenter’s Playboy pix. They could do that here. Ban.

Does this board experience much growth? Because people might not be staying if they can’t tell who the players are. Not sure growth is important, except financially - and I did already pay to upgrade. apropos of nothing

[Siam_Sam]

Get off my lawn!

[Hypnagogic_Jerk]

@Lynn_Bodoni

We do get the porn spam with images, though. Sometimes we’ll have none at all for a while, and then we’ll get inundated with it. We do try to clean it up as soon as possible, but sometimes several of us have to be away from the boards for a while at the same time.

You do? Is it possible to post images on the SDMB, or do you mean that the spammers post links to images?

And of course, if avatars are ever permitted here, this could be greatly avoided by only permitting members with a certain number of posts (doesn’t have to be large, something like 10 or 30) to post an avatar or inline pictures. Or hey, here’s a suggestion Ed would like: make having an avatar a perk of paying membership!

[Frodo]

@BDBoop

I got a three day timeout on my last board for even posting a link to Charisma Carpenter’s Playboy pix. They could do that here. Ban.

Does this board experience much growth? Because people might not be staying if they can’t tell who the players are. Not sure growth is important, except financially - and I did already pay to upgrade. apropos of nothing

If they can’t tell whose posts they are reading by looking at the poster name just on top the post I’m not sure we want them here.

[BDBoop]

Make having the ability to see avatars a perk. Everybody upload them, those of us who pay and choose to could see them.

I’d be grateful.

[BDBoop]

Really? Interesting. I’ll have to give that some thought. I know I’ll remember Frodo was an ass when I first got here, but I don’t have that luxury with the rest of the posters. And how many regular posters do you have, that I should be keeping track of sans picture prompts.

[Drunky_Smurf]

@Lynn_Bodoni

And last, but not least, some of the moderation staff strongly object to avatars.

@Caveat_lector_1

However, I have to admit I kind of like not having avatars, but I wouldn’t freak if we had them.

@KarlGauss

Every time this comes up, the members, not the mods, say they don’t want them. So, if there’s stodginess, it comes from the members (and not just those from the class of 1999 and 2000).

We (i.e. the majority of those who have stated a preference one way or another in similar threads) just don’t want avatars.

@Anaamika

I don’t want avatars…

@Siam_Sam

Fuck avatars.

@Exapno_Mapcase

And I don’t want avatars.

@Inner_Stickler

And that’s great and you can have that particular board experience by not clicking the checkbox that says display avatars. If tomorrow, the admins turned on that functionality, you wouldn’t see it, unless you went out of your way to make it possible. But that’s not enough for you guys, you also have to dictate the board experience the rest of us get. Hmmph

(Bolding mine.)

Problem solved. Inner Stickler is right. All the people who want avatars could have them and the ones who don’t want to see them do not have to.

The real reason is what Lynn alluded to.

@Lynn_Bodoni

On this board, you have to use words to impress people, not a fancy flashing picture.

People on this board like to pretend that “We” at the “Ignorance Fighting Straight Dope” are better than everyone else and because “We” are superior to the rest of the internet we don’t want all those “silly kids” coming in and bringing down the esteem reputation of this institution.

[Drunky_Smurf]

@Frodo

If they can’t tell whose posts they are reading by looking at the poster name just on top the post I’m not sure we want them here.

Really? So since 99% of boards have avatars I’m going to guess that this is the only board you visit since you’ve made it clear you do not want to hang out with any of “those types”.

[Czarcasm]

@BDBoop

Really? Interesting. I’ll have to give that some thought. I know I’ll remember Frodo was an ass when I first got here, but I don’t have that luxury with the rest of the posters. And how many regular posters do you have, that I should be keeping track of sans picture prompts.

If you require pictures to tell one poster from another(even though every single poster here has a unique name), then it would make sense that:

1. Every single avatar would have to be significantly different. Similar looking avatars might confuse you, right?
2. The avatars would have to be permanent-no changing them when you see something you like better, and no changing them when your mood changes, otherwise confusion might yet again ensue.

[BDBoop]

No. Similar looking avatars might confuse a 3 y/o, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t any at the board.

I see the name with the avatar, so changing doesn’t affect that. Seeing nothing, not even signatures? - The thing of it is, most of you have been here forever. You, I am guessing, don’t know what it’s like to show up here and have no idea who anybody is, and further be told that you must be about the dimmest bulb on the tree, and possibly not even welcome, if you can’t tell the players apart. I think a fair number of you are well past-due for a paradigm shift.

[Czarcasm]

@BDBoop

No. Similar looking avatars might confuse a 3 y/o, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t any at the board.

Are there any similar looking names you are currently having problems with? We usually try to remedy that situation when it pops up.

[BDBoop]

I haven’t been here long enough to say. I will let you know.

[Anaamika]

@BDBoop

No. Similar looking avatars might confuse a 3 y/o, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t any at the board.

I see the name with the avatar, so changing doesn’t affect that. Seeing nothing, not even signatures? - The thing of it is, most of you have been here forever. You, I am guessing, don’t know what it’s like to show up here and have no idea who anybody is, and further be told that you must be about the dimmest bulb on the tree, and possibly not even welcome, if you can’t tell the players apart. I think a fair number of you are well past-due for a paradigm shift.

Not all of us have told you that and I rather resent the characterization. There are avatars at a million other boards, so why do we have to be just like everyone else? And no, I don’t think we are the smartest people out there - we have a mix of smart and stupid just like everyone else. But we stay for a reason, and tha’s the conversations to be had. I see no reason to change it and I am staunchly against avatars.

[Czarcasm]

@BDBoop

I haven’t been here long enough to say. I will let you know.

If the situation ever arises in the future where you are having trouble telling one poster from another because their names are confusingly similar, just email a mod and we’ll see what we can do for you.

[TubaDiva]

@BDBoop

Really? Interesting. I’ll have to give that some thought. I know I’ll remember Frodo was an ass when I first got here, but I don’t have that luxury with the rest of the posters. And how many regular posters do you have, that I should be keeping track of sans picture prompts.

You should not be calling people names in this forum.

If you have an issue with someone, take it to the Pit.

[BDBoop]

Thank you.

I don’t suppose you offer refunds.