Default avatar

[LutiChris]

I'm actually really liking MangaD's avatar
maybe we can have that as a default?


idk how it looks on the other themes but its working just fine on the black one. (at school)

[A-Man]

If MangaD agrees on being stripped of his avatar for the sake of newcomers, I sure like it as well XP.

[MangaD]

It is not too bad.
The problem I have with having a default avatar is that avatars are useful for identifying users at a glance, but with a default 120x120 all it does is take up space.

Having no avatar at all is lame, there should be a placeholder (which is the default avatar) with some transparency to give it that feeling. If someone doesn't like the default avatar for whatever reason they can change it. And if they don't want any avatar at all then use a png with full transparency.

Btw, the default avatar only takes the space of 1 image (14KB compressed), it is not copied for new users or anything like that...

The reason I do not like the current default avatar is because there is nothing LF2 about it and looks horrible in this theme. (which reminds me the template I did looks bad on the white theme that nobody uses )

I'm actually really liking MangaD's avatar
maybe we can have that as a default?


idk how it looks on the other themes but its working just fine on the black one. (at school)

I like it too! But it is property of 13th zone. Ask @prince_freeza.

[Som1Lse]

Having no avatar at all is lame, there should be a placeholder (which is the default avatar) with some transparency to give it that feeling.

Why? That is just an empty statement, with no reasoning whatsoever.
My reason for why I dislike default avatars is that it takes up 120 pixels of vertical space for no good reason, newer people are also more likely to post shorter posts and have no signatures which makes it more likely that the avatar will increase the length of their post.
I can recognize the avatar frequenting members based on the color scheme, outlines etc. of it faster than I can read their name, but the same purpose does not exist with a default avatar since multiple users will share it.

If someone doesn't like the default avatar for whatever reason they can change it. And if they don't want any avatar at all then use a png with full transparency.

I do not like it. I cannot change other peoples avatars.

Btw, the default avatar only takes the space of 1 image (14KB compressed), it is not copied for new users or anything like that...

I was referring to vertical screen space, not bytes.

The reason I do not like the current default avatar is because there is nothing LF2 about it and looks horrible in this theme. (which reminds me the template I did looks bad on the white theme that nobody uses )

Having no default avatar solves this just as well, for any template.

[MangaD]

Why? That is just an empty statement, with no reasoning whatsoever.

Eye candy. Looking at posts with only text is kinda dull for a fansite. This is a customized space (with good reason - LF fansite), and having a LF2 related default avatar customizes it even better, it gives a more LF2 feeling to it.

My reason for why I dislike default avatars is that it takes up 120 pixels of vertical space for no good reason, newer people are also more likely to post shorter posts and have no signatures which makes it more likely that the avatar will increase the length of their post.

It takes 120 pixels of vertical space for the reason I mentioned. If it is good reason or not, I'll leave that for you (and the others) to decide.

People with no avatar usually make few posts. If they are going to stay they usually end up adding one. So the gains in space are not that significant...

I can recognize the avatar frequenting members based on the color scheme, outlines etc. of it faster than I can read their name, but the same purpose does not exist with a default avatar since multiple users will share it.

How does having no avatar change this?

[A-Man]

Someone else's arguments are entirely practical and practicality defies the existence of a theme in the first place.

newer people are also more likely to post shorter posts

And more likely to have their first posts disposal'd. The younger newcomers also always seem to have their avatars on, but the older usually don't care. They just sign up after some lurking period ready to show off what they've been working on that has to do with LF2 (and usually, these are the posts you'd want to refill tea/coffee for).

Edit: Examples:
-tyt2y3
-Archer-Dante
-Big-Think
-Nightmarex1337
-Redbeard (can't recall if that guy had his avatar or not when he joined, but point stands; it wasn't a short first-post).
-Luigi (don't recall the full name, but it started with Luigi. he made a LF2 character installer kind of tool).

But yes, if you still want to be practical, then this:

having no avatar at all makes it seem that one can't use an avatar at all (probably because they need to reach a number of posts or something of that sort). I've been into this kind of forums before, where pretty much everything (including PM) is initially locked and is unlocked as you post more.

is a reason for why having default avatars may clear a misconception for some.

[Som1Lse]

And more likely to have their first posts disposal'd. The younger newcomers also always seem to have their avatars on

Look at my post history. While my English may have been broken, I almost always contributed to the conversation in some way, despite very short posts.
It is perfectly possible for a newcomer to write reasonable posts.
Also when they select a custom avatar the avatar actually fulfils a purpose as you can actually recognize the person from it.

,but the older usually don't care. They just sign up after some lurking period ready to show off what they've been working on that has to do with LF2 (and usually, these are the posts you'd want to refill tea/coffee for).

Edit: Examples:
- @tyt2y3
- @Archer-Dante
- @BigThink
- @NightmareX1337
- @Redbeard (can't recall if that guy had his avatar or not when he joined, but point stands; it wasn't a short first-post).
- @Luigi600 (don't recall the full name, but it started with Luigi. he made a LF2 character installer kind of tool).

First of all 4/6 of these have an avatar which makes the statement "the older usually don't care" statistically false (at least for this sample).
Second they still have plenty of short posts just like any other user.

But yes, if you still want to be practical, then this:

having no avatar at all makes it seem that one can't use an avatar at all (probably because they need to reach a number of posts or something of that sort). I've been into this kind of forums before, where pretty much everything (including PM) is initially locked and is unlocked as you post more.

is a reason for why having default avatars may clear a misconception for some.

I do not see how this (outside of pure speculation (speaking of which)) would be more likely to inform newcomers that they can customize their avatar any more than a no avatar would.
If you look at user titles everybody has one, but you cannot change it yourself.

Eye candy. Looking at posts with only text is kinda dull for a fansite. This is a customized space (with good reason - LF fansite), and having a LF2 related default avatar customizes it even better, it gives a more LF2 feeling to it.

If I remember correctly the only thing on the entire forum that is customized to fit LF2 is the bandit sprites on the front page, and those only show up with the LFE v3 theme (though that is what most people will be using), but the bandits actually serve a purpose, and they almost do not affect the forum layout (they add 84 pixels vertically in total on a single page, and the horizontal difference is negligible. In fact if the first column had a padding of 3px instead of 5px they would make exactly no difference vertically). A default avatar has no such utility, and serves only to fit a theme.

It takes 120 pixels of vertical space for the reason I mentioned. If it is good reason or not, I'll leave that for you (and the others) to decide.

People with no avatar usually make few posts. If they are going to stay they usually end up adding one. So the gains in space are not that significant...

I admit this is largely a subjective discussion. Poll?
Also using the full 120 pixels is not required. The default avatar could just as well be a 80 pixels etc. avatar.

I can recognize the avatar frequenting members based on the color scheme, outlines etc. of it faster than I can read their name, but the same purpose does not exist with a default avatar since multiple users will share it.

How does having no avatar change this?

It takes up less space and is not in the way of the rest of the content.

I also realize now that with the power of userscripts I can simply hide all default avatars on a page, so I suppose I actually can change other peoples avatars (at least in my own browser).

[STM1993]

I wasn't really bothered by it until this thread made it much more apparent.
Personally I'd prefer not having an avatar by default, if only because it looks cleaner for me. The best alternative to that would be a transparent template face to best suit the theme.

[A-Man]

Look at my post history. While my English may have been broken, I almost always contributed to the conversation in some way, despite very short posts.
It is perfectly possible for a newcomer to write reasonable posts.
Also when they select a custom avatar the avatar actually fulfils a purpose as you can actually recognize the person from it.

Of course. I never said that it's a rule that a newcomer will have first non-contributing posts.

First of all 4/6 of these have an avatar which makes the statement "the older usually don't care" statistically false (at least for this sample).
Second they still have plenty of short posts just like any other user.

Yes, they do now, but I am sure you or anyone who posted there recalls and can confirm those didn't have avatars for at least the first couple of days after they joined.
The point I want to make is not that those always write long enough posts, but to counter your argument that "one is more likely to read shorter posts from newcomers" (note that I was careful in choosing my wordings, as I chose read because the not-so-worthwhile posts are often disposaled first and fairly fast by LFE's team of moderators). The reason I listed these examples is to show examples that actually shows that there are newcomers which enter the forum with a first post of quality.

I do not see how this (outside of pure speculation (speaking of which)) would be more likely to inform newcomers that they can customize their avatar any more than a no avatar would.
If you look at user titles everybody has one, but you cannot change it yourself.

Because you only consider changing a thing when you see it. You may say that one can reach the same conclusion from seeing other members', but you seeing yourself's is sure more confirming. Especially if you're coming from a community where avatars are locked initially (regardless of how likely that is to be the case, it still counts. I've been into a forum where avatars are exactly locked for a lower class of members).

Until right now, if I may take what you wrote as a confirmation, I couldn't be sure whether its that I can edit my user title and just didn't find where I could do that, or if I can't change it in the first place. Thanks for the information!

I am not in a position to watch the video you linked to right now, but I will try to do so when I get the chance.

A poll would do.

[MnM]

tl;dr . Don't wanna be a buzzkill . LFE forum. Little fighter empire forum - a fan-site for little fighter game. Faceless guy? = Template. Makes much more sense to me. This is my opinion.