# Can we get 'how to enable avatars' added to the 'FAQ - Technical issues for Posting' sticky? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 22, 2012, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033 "2012-07-22T10:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [July 24, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/81 "2012-07-24T16:27:35Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > So rarely do you see someone manage to disagree with their own self in one sentence. Until that program grabs the profile picture and uses it as an avatar, it is still only a profile picture. There is no contradiction in that sentence. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/82 "2012-07-24T16:29:31Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > No. I was telling TubaDiva to calm down, and now am adding Czarcasm to the list. You seem reasonably calm already. Well, the irony is obvious with whomever you’re telling to calm down. Unless it’s yourself. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/83 "2012-07-24T16:29:47Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > No. I was telling TubaDiva to calm down, and now am adding Czarcasm to the list. You seem reasonably calm already. We are perfectly calm-_you_ added the exclamation points when you restated what TubaDiva said. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/84 "2012-07-24T16:29:56Z")
Is it the same picture that - if displaying avatars in threads was enabled here - would be pulled into the thread and show up next to each user’s post? If so, then it’s an avatar. Unless you’re going to say that this image is called a “profile picture” on the user’s control panel, but suddenly becomes an “avatar” only when the “show this image in threads” feature is turned on. Which is kind of nuts and I’m not even sure what the point is of making the distinction. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/85 "2012-07-24T16:30:08Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Until that program grabs the profile picture and uses it as an avatar, it is still only a profile picture. There is no contradiction in that sentence. “Profile picture” is included in the set of things that are avatars. Edit: I’m glad everybody is calm now. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/86 "2012-07-24T16:32:16Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Until that program grabs the profile picture and uses it as an avatar, it is still only a profile picture. There is no contradiction in that sentence. Profile picture=avatar. You can argue about it but you’ll be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/87 "2012-07-24T16:32:53Z")
Mind the gap. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/88 "2012-07-24T16:34:20Z")
This reminds me of when I tried to convince my mother-in-law that AOL was not the same thing as “the Internet.” ---
**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:** [July 24, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/89 "2012-07-24T16:34:34Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Is it the same picture that - if displaying avatars in threads was enabled here - would be pulled into the thread and show up next to each user’s post? If so, then it’s an avatar. > > Unless you’re going to say that this image is called a “profile picture” on the user’s control panel, but suddenly becomes an “avatar” only when the “show this image in threads” feature is turned on. Which is kind of nuts and I’m not even sure what the point is of making the distinction. What if the program were designed somehow to pull the picture from an online data base of drivers license pictures. _Until_ the pictures are pulled and used to accompany individual posts on this board, they are still only drivers license pictures. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/90 "2012-07-24T16:36:37Z")
This may help us discriminate between profile pic and avatar. Say you didn’t have the script, so you have no little pic by your name in a thread. But you do have a pic in your profile. Do you call it your avatar when referring to it, or do you call it your profile pic. To ward off quibbling: If you have a pic in your profile that also shows up in avatar position with your posts. How do you distinguish between the two of the? On a practical note, consider how we’re all every effectively and uniformly distinguishing the meanings here. Think practical. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/91 "2012-07-24T16:37:09Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What if the program were designed somehow to pull the picture from an online data base of drivers license pictures. _Until_ the pictures are pulled and used to accompany individual posts on this board, they are still only drivers license pictures. No. The moment they are pulled online and associated with a username _in any way_ they become avatars. The place they are displayed online does not matter. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/92 "2012-07-24T16:40:59Z")
This may help us discriminate between profile pic and avatar. If you have a pic in your profile that also shows up in avatar position with your posts, how do you distinguish them? I.e., what terms do you use to contrast the two? On a practical note, consider how we’re effectively and uniformly distinguishing the meanings here in this thread. Think pragmatics. Think living language. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/93 "2012-07-24T16:44:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What if the program were designed somehow to pull the picture from an online data base of drivers license pictures. _Until_ the pictures are pulled and used to accompany individual posts on this board, they are still only drivers license pictures. It’s not a “program”, it’s a script. Isn’t this fun? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/94 "2012-07-24T16:54:08Z")
Can I play? \*\*Czarcasm \*\*is not a mod, but when he moderates he… ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/95 "2012-07-24T16:54:35Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > If you have a pic in your profile that also shows up in avatar position with your posts, how do you distinguish them? I.e., what terms do you use to contrast the two? We don’t. Why do we need to? There is a picture that represents me on Internet forums, peer-to-peer chat programs and other places. It’s the same picture whether you’re looking at it in my public profile or next to my posts. That’s my avatar. In Yahoo Messenger, you can upload an avatar to your profile. When you send a message to somebody, that image gets pasted next to your messages. It’s no different here. It doesn’t get a different name just because you haven’t sent any messages yet. I’m not even sure how it’s germane to this topic, but I will accept a dictionary or wiki definition if somebody wants to grab one. I’m on my phone and can’t easily cut n paste between the wiki app and tapatalk. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/96 "2012-07-24T16:56:49Z")
You can actually have a separate “Profile Picture” (which is a type of avatar) and “SDMB Avatar” which the script will display. You just add the “SDMB Avatar: …” line to your profile and the script will use that one, while ignoring the avatar which vBulletin refers to as a “Profile Picture.” ---
**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:** [July 24, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/97 "2012-07-24T16:58:04Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I’m not even sure how it’s germane to this topic, but I will accept a dictionary or wiki definition if somebody wants to grab one. I’m on my phone and can’t easily cut n paste between the wiki app and tapatalk. The way you were stating it as a fact, I thought that you already _had_ a dictionary definition picked out. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/98 "2012-07-24T16:59:22Z")
[Avatar: 3. a graphical image that represents a person, as on the Internet.](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/avatar) ---
**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:** [July 24, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/99 "2012-07-24T16:59:50Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > They are not “avatars.” > > All who pay a yearly subscription to support The Straight Dope are allowed to post profile pictures, which can be seen by everyone. The posting of these pictures is optional but is a feature available for Members and Charter Members. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > No, it is _not_ an avatar-it is a profile picture that this program grabs to use as an avatar. These posts made my day. It’s like a modern day Monty Python skit. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033/100 "2012-07-24T17:01:46Z")
[A graphical image that represents a person, as on the Internet.](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/avatar) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-how-to-enable-avatars-added-to-the-faq-technical-issues-for-posting-sticky/629033.md?page=6)