For what it’s worth, I don’t think you had anything to apologize for. In fact, I’m more disappointed you found his remarks worthy of a response.
I would like avatars as I am better at recognizing images rather than text names and could identify people easier. I am, apparently, in the minority.
I voted “I don’t care”. By looking at other boards with avatars, it seems to me that a lot of them are supposed to be humorous. By seeing them over and over, it’s like hearing the same joke a bunch of times (or seeing the same signature in a thread over and over), after a while it’s not funny any more. I think they’re more useful (not that the main purpose of an avatar is usefulness, I suppose) when they represent something related to the poster - for example a photo of the person.
I like avatars. It’s like having a face to connect to a poster. It makes it easier to find my place in a thread if I’ve posted or where I’ve left off.
But if it would interfere with the bandwidth they’re not worth it.
I voted no because I think allowing them could foster a “avatar vs non-avatar” vibe. I already envision threads like “Whose avatar do you like the best?”, “What does your Avatar say about you?” , or “Poll: Should I change my avatar?”.
I guess I’d be ok with them if the default for avatars was always off unless the user is logged in and had manually switched them on for viewing.
Also, for the record, I don’t think adding them would bring us to the 21st century, I think it’d just bring us back to the early 00s.
One final point, I’d rather see the ability to embed pictures in threads any day than avatars. Especially germane pictures in GQ which would help explain X better than a link and wouldn’t cause the servers much grief.
There’s an option to turn them off if you don’t want them (I seem to remember having seen that in the options and having heard it a few times somewhere recently, but I don’t remember where), so enable them.
Also, enable picture and video embedding as well. I suspect that such a thing brought up would make the stodgy amongst us turn feral, rabid, [del]or Republican[/del].
Baby steps, baby. 
Precisely. I’ve never seen so many conservatives on such an overwhelmingly liberal board! 
It’s those persnickety Apple users. Them’s the devil.
Baby steps, baby.
Whoa. I finally voted. 51% want no avatars or anything useful and functional at all with their messageboard? Christ, you guys have either been permanently singed by messageboards with bad taste in pictures and avatars. Make avatars a couple inches square on my screen (hey, fuck resolution. I’m not the computer person around here), make them safe for work, and keep the ability to never see them, just like I never see any of your signatures.
I don’t really have strong feelings about it but if I had to choose I’d say “no”. Aren’t user names supposed to serve the purpose of showing off our clever, hilarious, special snowflakedness?
Hence the option to turn them off and never see them. Besides, there’s already a lot of snowflakery with sig lines.
Just for the record, my favorite* message board–where I feel most at home, where people “know” me–has avatars, allows embedded images and videos. I have an avatar there, and I regularly post photos, etc. I don’t mind any of that stuff over there, but at the same time I prefer the status quo over here.
Call me fickle, but don’t call me Shirley.
*sorry, SDMB, you’re #2
I’m a visual person, and many a time I’ll notice a seemingly “new” poster whom I don’t recall from before, only to notice thousands of posts next to his (her) name. Put an avatar next to the handle, and I’ll immediately note, “Oh, it’s the Crazy Cat Lady! Yeah I remember her.”
But NO animated ones, at fucking all. They make me want to put my hand through the screen and strangle the silly essobee who stuck it up there, to dance and jiggle and distract me from reading posts.
I say no. I don’t wear T-shirts with pictures or slogans on them either, and that’s what avatars amount to to me.
I voted no, because in my experience lurking at other boards, avatars are visible to visitors unless they sign in and opt out.
I lurked at the SMDB for several months before signing up. I might not have if anyone looking over my shoulder would have seen a screen full of silly and sometimes indecent graphics (not that I’m a prude, but the people looking over my shoulder might have been).
Won’t somebody think of the lurkers?
If it’s possible to make them invisible by default, even to people who aren’t logged in, then I withdraw my objection.
I didn’t know there was an option to turn them off. If I had, I’d have voted the first option. I don’t like them at all, not one bit, but if I can turn them off I don’t care at all.
I like them, but I don’t think they would necessarily add anything to the board. On the other hand, neither do signatures or the ability to use non-alphabetic characters in user names.
I voted to allow them, but I won’t care if they don’t.