General / Off-Topic How we respond to Avatars.

Arry

Arry
That is the question:

How we generally respond to a poster, due to their Avatar?

Some posters change there avatars from time to time; for a number of reasons and some will just stick to the same one, but does the avatar, affect the way we respond to the poster? Do we take a poster less seriously, because they have; in our minds, a silly avatar?

This is something I have always wondered about, across the many forums I have taken part in over the years.
 

Red Anders

Red Anders
Personally no, it doesn't have any influence on the way I respond to a poster at all (and I shudder to think what reaction mine would provoke from anyone who does...) but it's an interesting question.
 

CMDR Zadian Lichtfrost

C
Arry said:
That is the question:

How we generally respond to a poster, due to their Avatar?

Some posters change there avatars from time to time; for a number of reasons and some will just stick to the same one, but does the avatar, affect the way we respond to the poster? Do we take a poster less seriously, because they have; in our minds, a silly avatar?

This is something I have always wondered about, across the many forums I have taken part in over the years.
Click to expand...

Avatars are an additional method to communicate something.
A lot of commenters using avatars just use a picture of something they like.
Others use their avatars to make a statement - consciously or not.
In the end it always influences the receiver of the communication - just like all forms of communication does.
 

Gunnet

G
I don't really read much into people's avatars. They're just handy for knowing who is who at a glance.

The one exception would be avatars which intentionally signal a position on something. For example, if you have the Hudson logo in your avatar, I'm going to go ahead and assume you're not an Empire or Alliance supporter. Or the "where is the love" galaxy avatars, which tell me you enjoy exploring and wish there was more new exploration content.

Wyaston Hypatia said:
All I know is that animated GIFs annoy me, so put me in a less positive attitude to the post.
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I'm so opposed to animated gifs that I run a browser plugin which freezes them unless I click on them :D
 
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Stealthie

Stealthie
I think they help us form a superficial opinion of a person.

Once you start to read the posts, themselves, that opinion will often change though.
 

[VR] Deggial

[VR] Deggial
Indeed an interesting question I was thinking about myself already.

For me, I just can say:
Usually, I try not to judge a person due to their avatar or at least give them a chance to change my first impression.
The choice of an avatar is an active decision, though (in contrast to the physical appearance of the real person) and very extreme avatars are definitely telling me something about the person behind them.

Therefore, I oftentimes find that the avatar and the person's attitude is somehow related, after I've read more than just a few posts of said person. Users with very aggressive avatars tend to be more on the offensive side of the spectrum. An avatar that is screaming in tantarum is more likely to be used by somebody who likes complaining.

Anders, your avatar was indeed suspicious at first. :D
But I quickly learned to appreciate your balanced attitude and well founded opinion.
 
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Taranis Dekker

Taranis Dekker
TomP said:
What I really can't stand is when somebody uses an Avatar solely to make a point to FDev about a problem with the game. Terrible behaviour.
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I see what you did there [up]

Made me chuckle

+1

ps... FD, thargoid ships are pinky purple things
 
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Cucco-Master

Cucco-Master
In real life we often judge people based on how they look (intentionally or not). Compare a 7 feet tall guy with a scar across his face and a very short guy with glasses. The tall guy would intimidate most people, whereas the short guy would be considered a nerd or something along that line - despite we now nothing about their actual personality since the two guys never had any say about what they would look like (the scar could have come from an accident as well, not necessarily from a fight).
Our avatars, on the other hand, are entirely the picture we chose so they say much more about our personality than our physical appearance does. This only makes it a logical consquence that we are also judged based on these avatars (again, intentionally or not).
 

Conch

Conch
altho i dont act on peoples avatar, i need to say i like what some people doing with theirs, sticking with the same, but tweaking it from time to time.
 

Jenner

I wish I was English like my hero Tj.
Jenner
I've changed mine a lot since the beginning on the forum and I find it interesting how each one elicits reactions. :)
 

Brett C

Frontier
Heh... See, i could disable remote users from seeing another users avatar, but the bias would still remain in posted-responses if they base their opinion/argument around the username or avatar.


Do note, it is why post count, location info, and join date do not show up on posts. People will use that as a weasel-method to an argument to dismiss another users arguement.
 

Bran Tse Mallory

Bran Tse Mallory
Stealthie said:
I think they help us form a superficial opinion of a person.

Once you start to read the posts, themselves, that opinion will often change though.
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Well said that Kerbal!

Forum avatars provide a quick glance at who's posted what but it doesn't really stop me reading their reply. I do get confused when long standing avatars change.... I.E. Ziggies avatar changes to a fish or Tj changes mine for some chop job he knocked up n PS.

Then again there are some avatars that I see and associate with people who raise good points or are helpful. 777Driver for instance along with many others.

Either way I still read each post as a valid opinion even if I disagree with them...

I'm also quite certain there are people who see my avatar and just keep scrolling, each to there own I guess!
 
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Jenner

I wish I was English like my hero Tj.
Jenner
Commander Mike said:
Case in point. I see Jenner's avatar, and I think... [???] (confused)
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20% cooler?

coolyes_animated_by_miketheuser-d4ix32f.gif
 

Sir.Tj

The Moderator who shall not be Blamed....
Volunteer Moderator
Sir.Tj
Hmmm Jenner and his avatar........ hmmmmmmmmmm

As for Bran....... Perfect match as far as I can see..... especially when it get's ahem... altered...
 
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