# No Avatars Here? Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 19, 2012, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626 "2012-06-19T09:55:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/281 "2012-06-21T01:07:15Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I wish I could understand why those of you who want avatars don’t just DO them as you have been told how to do it, instead of just arguing forever. Jebus! Don’t want them that badly. I like them on other boards and I’d have them turned on, but I’m not going to stuff around for five minutes doing a work-around. Yes I am that lazy. Also essentially I’d like to see other’s avatars but have no great interest in making my own. Why are the anti-avatar crowd apparently blind to the fact that they would never have to see an avatar, that it would be off by default, not their own avatar, but the ability to see ANY avatars at all? I’m not sure if **aceplace57** is wooshing or not, but he’s one of many posters complaining about avatars cluttering up the board - no it wouldn’t, because you’d have them turned off, you wouldn’t see any, ever. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/282 "2012-06-21T01:28:32Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > No it’s not dagnabbit! :mad: Well then it’s not relevant. This board is not subjected to voters, politicians and the like. No slippery slope, if the PTB ever decide they don’t want them (after trying them out), they just unflip the switch the switch. Easy-peasy. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/283 "2012-06-21T01:36:18Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > I don’t think there is, I’m pretty sure they’re either all or nothing. [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/4zPmW.png "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/4zPmW) ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/284 "2012-06-21T01:48:43Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > 1. In Firefox select “Tools - Add-ons”, in the search box type “greasemonkey” and click “install”. Then copy and paste a provided script into greasemonkey and click “save”.\ This is what makes it not easy. Most people (yes, even brilliant Dopers) don’t necessarily find the concept of Greasemonkey a no-brainer. And then you have to install a script on top of that. If it was just an add-on by itself, sure, you have a case. But to add on to an add-on… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/285 "2012-06-21T01:50:27Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > 1. In Firefox select “Tools - Add-ons”, in the search box type “greasemonkey” and click “install”. Then copy and paste a provided script into greasemonkey and click “save”. Except I use Google Chrome, now. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/286 "2012-06-21T01:52:01Z")
They also wouldn’t have to be uploaded here – you could have them hosted at an image site like tinypic, or photobucket. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/287 "2012-06-21T01:55:27Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > It’s a small, easy to install Firefox add-on, not the fragmented memories of a weekend in Aruba. > > I wrote \*\*Polerius \*\*a PM to ask if he would be willing to help put the final touch on the script he started during the last great avatar uprising in 2011. If he responds and I am able to do it, I will post the complete, step by step for anyone who wants to use it as an interim solution. > > It is very easy, just as fast as the way you would have to set up an avatar directly if the board allowed them. The end result will be that you see avatars of posters who want to show them, and will show your avatar to posters who want to see it. No modding, no labored attempts to explain to busybodies that your choice to use avatars doesn’t impact them in any way, etc. just sweet, beautiful avatars in all their glory without putting the harsh on anyone’s text-only buzz. If you get that done, I’m in. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/288 "2012-06-21T02:04:31Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Hey I appreciate it! And I don’t give a tinker’s damn about shame knowing you have partaken of such sinful activities. What happens in greasemonkey, stays in greasemonkey. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/289 "2012-06-21T02:06:43Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Except I use Google Chrome, now. Chrome has [built-in support for Greasemonkey scripts](http://lifehacker.com/5461675/chrome-4-supports-greasemonkey-userscripts-without-an-extension)as does Apple Safari, I’m pretty sure. So you don’t even have to get an add-on in those cases, you just put the script in and it’s avatars all the way. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/290 "2012-06-21T02:57:54Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I’m not sure if **aceplace57** is wooshing or not, but he’s one of many posters complaining about avatars cluttering up the board - no it wouldn’t, because you’d have them turned off, you wouldn’t see any, ever. Ok, sure, I might not see them, ever…but won’t they clutter up the board? ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/291 "2012-06-21T04:24:07Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > It really is, Really. > To use the built-option if it were available: > > 1. Host an image somewhere > > 2. On the SDMB click “User CP”, click “Edit Your Details”, click “Enable Avatars”, and in the text box type the URL to the image you hosted in step 1. > > To use the Greasemonkey option > > 1. host an image somewhere > > 2. on the SDMB click “User CP”, click “Your Profile” and in the text box type the URL to the image you hosted in step 1. > > 3. In Firefox select “Tools - Add-ons”, in the search box type “greasemonkey” and click “install”. Then copy and paste a provided script into greasemonkey and click “save”. > That extra third step takes about 15 seconds. > > I don’t disagree that the arguments against avatars are irrational or that it would be marginally easier and better if the board simply supported them with no need of a workaround, but the workaround is simple and does the job. > > I prefer to have avatars now, we can keep debating the board feature as long as it takes. (8 or 10 years so far) > > Also if TPTB saw “SDMB Avatar: [www.xyz.com](http://www.xyz.com)” in every third profile because so many people were displaying them with greasemonkey that might just help speed up the process. …not that I’m taking sides in the debate (I really don’t care one way or the other), but for a huge number of people (I would argue the majority) these are not easy steps. Look at your first step" 1. Host an image somewhere That step alone needs someone to understand what hosting an image means, then finding a suitable host, then creating a profile and logging in, then figuring out how to get the url of the image from the hosting site (and there are different ways for every site). Your first step is actually five steps: and it really isn’t that uncommon for people to post the url of their C: and wonder how come the image isn’t showing up? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/292 "2012-06-21T04:27:45Z")
^But the point is that we would have to do that anyway, even if the board admin enabled avatars. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/293 "2012-06-21T05:00:24Z")
Personally, I think the SDMB is defined by the “Wall of Text” look. I like it that way, and I like that it attracts other people who like it that way. The fact that I would be able to turn them off is besides the point. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/294 "2012-06-21T05:04:38Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > The fact that I would be able to turn them off is besides the point. Why is it beside the point? ---
**Author:** ![Gezmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Gezmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gezmo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/295 "2012-06-21T05:06:30Z")
About the grease monkey thing. So how do I turn an image url into a script, I know nothing about Java scripting. Can someone help? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/296 "2012-06-21T05:45:30Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Personally, I think the SDMB is defined by the “Wall of Text” look. I like it that way, and I like that it attracts other people who like it that way. > > The fact that I would be able to turn them off is besides the point. It’s not beside the point. You wouldn’t “be able to turn them off”, you would, if you wanted to, have to _turn them on_. It would be an opt in function. Anyone stumbling across the SDMB would see it just as it is now. Everyone who didn’t like avatars would also see it just as it is now. Everyone who didn’t want the things would see no change in the board and wouldn’t have to do anything at all. It could happen and you’d never know unless you read the announcement. Tell me again how this affects you? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/297 "2012-06-21T06:43:32Z")
I would expect to at least see a blank square where the avatar would go. The message block probably would increase to accommodate it. just a WAG. Much like Twitter. IIRC there is a blank square by default. I reluctantly added an avatar there because of the social stigma, People without avatars are perceived as clueless newbies and are the butt of jokes. Like joining an online game with the default settings. Over on Gallifrey Base animated avatars are a special privilege for paying members. The non paying crowd gets a standard avatar. Gallifrey uses the same bulletin board software as the Dope. > [@RaftPeople](#): > > Ok, sure, I might not see them, ever…but won’t they clutter up the board? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/298 "2012-06-21T07:24:15Z")
Additionally, on other forums I’ve been on, posts without avatars are less prominent and easier to overlook. ---
**Author:** ![Mewl\_Dear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mewl\_Dear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mewl_Dear)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/299 "2012-06-21T07:27:26Z")
> [@Gezmo](#): > > How come none of us can have picture avatars at this forum? Because you couldn’t pull a sewing needle out of this boards ass with a bulldozer. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/300 "2012-06-21T07:42:24Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > If you get that done, I’m in. I tried to PM you a test script that I made myself tonight, but you have PM’s disabled. I don’t want to post it publicly just yet until a few people try to break it. I PM’ed a copy to \*\*PlainJain \*\*and I’ve been using it myself all evening. If all seems to go well for her and I don’t find any typos or unforeseen issues I will I’ll post all the details here in a day or two. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626.md?page=16)