# 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:** 7
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/121 "2012-06-19T19:47:39Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > [Here you go.](http://www.big-boards.com/) Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/122 "2012-06-19T19:50:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Everyone would agree that almost all boards have avatars, so it’s a waste of time to find out if it’s true? I wouldn’t want to waste anyone’s time asking for evidence of such a well-known fact, so if one of you could point me in the direction of a decent message board list I’ll try to get the answer myself. And you want to know this because…? Especially since you insisted that popularity doesn’t have anything to do with board policy when we were talking about allowing meaningful polls in ATMB. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/123 "2012-06-19T19:52:30Z")
I imagine if he finds that most boards do allow avatars then the dope doesn’t need to meet a need that’s adequately met elsewhere but if few do, then the dope is no different than any other board so shut up. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/124 "2012-06-19T19:52:49Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > You don’t see the potential flaw in your reasoning, I do. I’m not going to keep repeating myself. But I will concede my choice of “silly” as a description may be a bit harsh. And after over 100 posts since this morning, I see the anti-avatar crowd has the silly quota way over-filled, and the pro-avatar crowd only once mentioned the recognizability aspect. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/125 "2012-06-19T19:55:52Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > And you want to know this because…? Because a claim about the vast majority of message boards was made, and I wanted to know if it was true. Why does this bother you so much? ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/126 "2012-06-19T19:57:49Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I imagine if he finds that most boards do allow avatars then the dope doesn’t need to meet a need that’s adequately met elsewhere but if few do, then the dope is no different than any other board so shut up. Have fun with your imaginary thread. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/127 "2012-06-19T20:00:23Z")
I don’t want you to react like that, I merely expect it. If you want to disprove my supposition, no one would be happier than me. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/128 "2012-06-19T20:06:14Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I don’t want you to react like that, I merely expect it. If you want to disprove my supposition, no one would be happier than me. And if people would respond to what is actually said and asked for, no one would be happier than _me_. Dissing someone for dismissing out of hand a cite for a claim is one thing-but dissing someone for merely asking for a cite in the first place is quite another. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/129 "2012-06-19T20:10:45Z")
It’s not when it’s a stupid thing to ask a cite for. Internet forums are assumed to have avatars by now. The dope is an outlier in that regard. ---
**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 19, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/130 "2012-06-19T20:16:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Of the top 100 or so message boards out there, how many have avatars turned on? As soon as the anti-avatar crowd prove that avatars will somehow ruin the tone of the board, or provide tons of visual clutter, and endless posts about them? But I’ll be nice and link to some I’ve found randomly, (through [Big Boards](http://big-boards.com) (Some serious, some frivolous) [Free Thought and Rationalism](http://www.freeratio.org/) [Randi.org](http://forums.randi.org/forumindex.php) [Perspectives.com](http://www.perspectives.com/forums/) [Toronto Maple Leafs Fans Community](http://www.tmlfans.ca/community/) [Unforumzed](http://www.unforumzed.com/forum.php?) [Home Theater Forum](http://www.hometheaterforum.com/f/) ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/131 "2012-06-19T20:19:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Because a claim about the vast majority of message boards was made, and I wanted to know if it was true. Why does this bother you so much? Ya know. You could easily go figure this out yourself. ---
**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 19, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/132 "2012-06-19T20:23:33Z")
How about showing us instances of cites being sued over avatars? Or even being CONTACTED, over an avatar. Because of course, it’s not like we have a way to let the mods know if we see an inappropriate avatar, right? (Oh, and let’s see some other cites of boards where there are nothing but goatse avatars. Something Awful doesn’t count) ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/133 "2012-06-19T20:26:27Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Ya know. You could easily go figure this out yourself. Day late and a dollar short-I’m already doing so. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/134 "2012-06-19T20:27:43Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > (Oh, and let’s see some other cites of boards where there are nothing but goatse avatars. Something Awful doesn’t count) Who made _this_ claim?? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/135 "2012-06-19T20:29:35Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Day late and a dollar short-I’m already doing so. Well good. Maybe now you’ll be quite about it till your done. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/136 "2012-06-19T20:31:19Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Well good. Maybe now you’ll be quite about it till your done. Quite what? ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/137 "2012-06-19T20:36:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Quite what? Your [sic] not helping you’re [sic] argument… ---
**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 19, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/138 "2012-06-19T20:41:52Z")
Having paid close attention to this debate the last time it raged on, I can sum up the entire situation in a few words. Individual posters opinions don’t matter because they don’t need to see avatars, have avatars, or know avatars are even enabled if they don’t like them. The outward appearance of the boards would not change to guests because avatars would be disabled by default. Several mods expressed concerns they don’t want to moderate avatars for copyright and offensive content. This is a valid concern although hypothetical and baseless until we gave it a try and found out how much of a problem it was or wasn’t. Several mods and at least one admin expressed a desire to have avatars and saw no reason they shouldn’t be enabled. **Ed Zotti** despises avatars, the very idea of them, and they will never be enabled on his board, which it is, making paragraphs 1-5 above moot as well as all future discussions of the subject. That said, Charter members, SDSAB members, mods and admins have avatars regardless. And that pretty much sums it up. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/139 "2012-06-19T20:44:25Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > making paragraphs 1-5 above moot as well as all future discussions of the subject. > > \ > And that pretty much sums it up. But won’t end the “discussion”. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626/140 "2012-06-19T20:45:57Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > …and the pro-avatar crowd only once mentioned the recognizability aspect. And that is a lousy argument because once a poster has picked an avatar he can still change it. I post on a board with avatars and use them for recognizing people (message boarding for the functionally illiterate!), but have to reset a poster in my head when he changes his picture, if I even recognize his name. The copyright issue makes a lot of sense to me. Selecting an avatar from a list of, say, 100 abstract images is the dumbest fucking idea I’ve heard this week that I didn’t come up with, especially on a board this size. If avatars were enabled could members with slow connections turn them off? Would they default to invisible when people happen upon the board so their experience is not slowed? I am an old fart, but some of you know that. [old fart] Avatars are tacky and childish and I am not surprised that the examples shown are for a gamer board and a SF fan board. _Battlestar Galactica_, indeed! [/old fart] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-avatars-here-why/625626.md?page=8)