I read at least a dozen of multi-paged posts every day; that comes to HUNDREDS of posters at a minimum. A cast many times larger than most books–every day!
Why are you still arguing with people who know FROM EXPERIENCE that avatars enhance their experience? It’s like someone trying to convince you that your favorite food is actually garbage. It’s exceedingly silly and a waste of time.
I argue because I have a different opinion on the subject. Isn’t that why most people argue?
But we’re not arguing a plot point or something that could even be considered a factual debate. It’s like me going into the Fast Food thread and questioning someone someone how they can like a Big Mac, then arguing about the merits of their subjective taste. It’s fine to have a different opinion and state such, but what do you hope to glean by actively engaging in people with a debate about their personal and completely subjective preferences?
Because you are advocating that your personal preferences be made board policy, which gives me the right to question the reasoning behind preferences, especially since it seems as if your opinion might be in the minority, and that(personally speaking) such a change might mean more work for the mods.
Thus, the discussion.
People have already provided their reasoning. What you’re doing is belittling them by asking demeaning questions such as “When you read fiction or non-fiction, do you feel hampered by the fact that the people described therein have names but no pictures?”
An absurd comparison, as I pointed out, which you ignored.
Which is your personal opinion, which I respectfully disagree with.
Yes, it is indeed my personal opinion that you’re being purposefully dense and demeaning. I hadn’t realized that was unclear.
If they are off by default, even to guests, and they don’t slow the Board just give them the frickkin’ avatars.
No. They are fleshed out as they are introduced. I wouldn’t keep reading if I didn’t know who 90% of the characters are. No author worth reading introduces everybody at once, and expects you to sort it out.
Okay, except George R.R. Martin.
Exactly. Thank you.
We do occasionally have to go in and tweak individual settings but by and large the custom title system is automated.
Yes. I post on a couple boards of comparable size to this one which allow avatars, and I find the avatars helpful. Duplicate ones don’t seem to be an issue at all, and although people do change them from time to time, it only takes a couple posts to get used to it. It’s not like it’s a daily occurrence that avatars are changed…people tend to stick with them for a while.
A board that couldn’t handle nested quotes wants avatars?
There are sub-forums that allow the cutesy, but by and large it’s ideas and words that drive the content and culture. If visual cues are needed to keep track of the ideas and content, you’re doing it wrong. That such cues are easily changed by the user (a much less cumbersome and limited change than a username) undercuts the notion that they add benefit to following arguments and positions.
Glad you read the thread before posting. They’re not needed, they’re aids. I would propose if there’s no room for the “cutesy,” then signatures should be disabled as well. Which have been optional, as I’ll point out, and hasn’t brought the board culture to its knees.
WTF? 
Tell me Czar…how would it affect your board experience if
A) The default is that avatars are off so you never, ever have to see them unless you make the proactive decision to flip that switch on your User CP.
and
B) Other people can see avatars
I’m in favor of people having the freedom to chose. Aren’t you?
And speaking as a mod of a much smaller (what, 1/4th? less?) the size of the Dope forum, I think I’ve had to as 1 (one) user ever in the entire time I’ve been modding to change their avatar. Even if you multiply my experience by 20, you’re still only talking 20 requests in something like 2, 3 years. It’s not that much work.
Your main point that “[visual] cues are easily changed by the user” was already brought up and addressed. Add (or respond) to them if you must, but reiterating them adds nothing and is annoying to those who’ve already responded.
Nested quotes were on for everyone by default.
Avatars, were they enabled, are off for everyone unless they choose to turn them on. There would be zero* effect on the experience of those who didn’t choose to turn them on.
*Ok, before some hyper-pedantic twit comes along and corrects me, there will be a flurry of “Oooh! Lookit my avatar!” threads for the first week or two. And the occasional thread would pop up going further. So not exactly zero.
Speaking as a user, and leaving aside my being a moderator (which isn’t really relevant anyway - nobody at the Reader gives a hoot what the Game Room third-string mod thinks) I say no, no, no. no, no, no a thousand times no to avatars. No, no no. Please, no.
It’s 80x80 on my site, which seems to be a sweet spot. Too much bigger, and avatars start to appear out of scale with the other graphics (buttons, etc) on the page. Too much smaller, and images start to look amateurish and pixellated. Also, 80x80 allows decent 8-bit transparent GIF and PNG images that are 5K and smaller. The SDMB has a light background, so alpha transparency – and the larger 24-bit PNGs they bring – aren’t needed.
The more “adult” boards that allow avatars usually have a maximum size range of 64x64 to 100x100, and don’t allow animated avatars. Message boards with gaudy avatars used to be more common in the past, but as tastes in Web design changed in the past decade, it’s now no longer as common.
I wonder if any of the anti-avatar folks here have even seen a board where avatars are used tastefully. (I’ll say it for the Bearded Old Ones now, “There’s no such thing as a tasteful avatar.”) Here’s one example from bad Astronomy/Universe Today, with an 80x80 max:
http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php/117783-Kardashev-scale
Here’s a thread from Unaboard, where 100x100 is used:
http://65.69.77.33/forums/showthread.php?t=22687
Typophile. An incredibly clean look, even with avatars. 60x60 max.