# Where'd that little guy come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 15, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896 "2005-05-15T02:06:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/1 "2005-05-15T02:06:53Z")
Usually if a Doper is online, there’s a “light” on next to the username. Now there’s a little running dude. When did this happen? ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/2 "2005-05-15T02:19:30Z")
I don’t see a little running dude. Put down the bong, man. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/3 "2005-05-15T02:25:34Z")
> [@imthjckaz](#): > > I don’t see a little running dude. > > Put down the bong, man. Actually, there’s a “little running dude” on your post. It means you can be reached by AIM. Is that what you mean, **Mr Blue Sky**? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/4 "2005-05-15T03:19:09Z")
I’m pretty sure the man and that cool green light feature both appeared after the latest improvements to the board. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/5 "2005-05-15T03:21:22Z")
> [@Rube E. Tewesday](#): > > Actually, there’s a “little running dude” on your post. It means you can be reached by AIM. > > Is that what you mean, **Mr Blue Sky**? That’s the guy. I don’t use AIM, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/6 "2005-05-15T03:25:13Z")
> [@imthjckaz](#): > > I don’t see a little running dude. It’s the same guy that’s under your location. > [@](#): > > Put down the bong, man. Sorry, I don’t go that way. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/7 "2005-05-15T03:29:41Z")
In case you can’t see it: [screen capture](http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-1/584173/man.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/8 "2005-05-15T04:29:52Z")
Weird. I have no little running man either. Maybe it’s just you, **Mr. Blue Sky**. Have you checked your computer for signs that it’s been possessed by demons or taken over by aliens? ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/9 "2005-05-15T04:37:05Z")
hmmmmm. I only have the green/blue dot, too. Velly strange! ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/10 "2005-05-15T05:31:52Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > In case you can’t see it: > > [screen capture](http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-1/584173/man.jpg) Odd. I wonder if your computer hiccupped somehow and juggled the AIM guy over to the green/grey dot? ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/11 "2005-05-15T11:03:08Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > In case you can’t see it: > > [screen capture](http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-1/584173/man.jpg) Most likely your browser got “confused” somehow and stored the AIM icon in its cache under the name of the USER ONLINE icon. Try clearing your browser’s cache. Dani ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/12 "2005-05-15T12:51:35Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > [screen capture](http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-1/584173/man.jpg) Hmmm, that’s odd. > [@](#): > > Sorry, I don’t go that way. But your browser may be. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/13 "2005-05-15T13:22:17Z")
> [@Noone Special](#): > > Most likely your browser got “confused” somehow and stored the AIM icon in its cache under the name of the USER ONLINE icon. > > Try clearing your browser’s cache. > > Dani Well, that did it. I’m using Firefox 1.0.4 so I tried using Opera and IE and didn’t see the little dude, just the on/off light. Now I see the light (ha, ha) on Firefox. It’s weird, I tells ya! ---
**Author:** ![Another\_Primate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Another\_Primate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Primate)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/14 "2005-05-15T13:56:36Z")
imthjkaz, Marley 23, Kat, and Ruby display little orange bowling dudes. Kat also has a green daisy-like flower with yellow center and a red eight-o’clock petal. Ruby also has a ruby Y with an exclamation point, but no daisy. Hovering over these displays bowler: “send a message via AIM to (user)” daisy: “send a message via ICQ to (user)” Y!: “send a message via Yahoo to (user)” I’m on IE 6.0. ---
**Author:** ![Another\_Primate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Another\_Primate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Primate)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whered-that-little-guy-come-from/303896/15 "2005-05-15T13:59:43Z")
Oh, sorry. I should have actually looked at the screen print you’d so kindly supplied. Nope, none of the icons I saw were over to the left by user name – they’re all under location. Likely they’ve been there all along and I just had never noticed them before. Going back to sleep.