About avatars used on the off-topic forum

[Stylesjl]

I find it really interesting to notice that in the discussion forums for Civilization people often use the default avatars and some default avatars are often used by multiple people.... for example several people who might use the "Universal Sufferage" picture or the "Great Prophet" picture, and therefore making it impossible to tell who is who on avatars alone.

But interestingly enough on the off-topic forums there seems to be some kind of general understanding or unwritten agreement that people won't use the same avatars to avoid confusion or mistaken identity.

For example i use the civ 3 warrior avatar. I notice on the Civilization discussion forums there are quite a few people who use the same avatar but here on the off-topic forum there are few, if any regular posters who use that same avatar. But i'm not that popular

So is there any kind of logical explanation as to why this happens? Or was it the reason i stated above? (that there is some kind of general rule here that people won't use the same avatars?)

Or maybe it's simply because people on off-topic just don't like to use default avatars as much as others and prefer custom avatars?

Now i bet that lots of people are going to adopt the civ 3 warrior as their avatar just to prove me wrong

Anyway what are your thoughts? Sorry if this post doesn't seem to make sense, i'm just not good at long posts in general

 

[The Last Conformist]

The on-topic fora have a much higher percentage of newbies, while the OT is filled with grizzled veterans who've developed a forum persona over the years. I think this is much of the explanation.

 

[BCLG100]

I used a normal avatar for years, then i decided to use my little care bear, no extra reason just felt like it

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

I did the same thing. I had the little Civ2 tank for a while before switching to a Duck avatar. Now I have this one. On both occasions I changed just for the hell of it

 

[Mirc]

I had the C3C crusader for about 8 months, then I had a Civ4 Praetorian, but I got to hate the way it looks (I think Thunderfall could have done a better job with the Civ4 avatars), then my first custom avatar was one resembling to this one (it was bigger, but a part of the picture was cut).

I don't think there's any rule.

Edit: My postcount is 666. Oops, I mean 2666. Anyway...

 

[Paalikles]

The on-topic fora have a much higher percentage of newbies, while the OT is filled with grizzled veterans who've developed a forum persona over the years. I think this is much of the explanation.

Agree. New people are attracted by the civ fora. And of course, in the beginning (when their post count was without form and void...err...something like that) they have to choose among the defaults. And this is reflected in the avator choices: civ4 avatars are popular with the most recent newcomers, I expect, as were c3c, ptw and civ3 in the past.

In here, you find more customised avatars, if they are indeed from one of those games.


(Mine, for example, was not standard civ4 when I got it - so I had it done through the avatar workshop that Lyonesse started. But I started out with the Greek Hoplite, and have also had a different Pericles avatar during the years - all because of my using Pericles as base for my nick)

 

[skadistic]

When I signed on couple of years ago I didn't care about my avatar. When I came back for Civ 4 avatars were disabled so I couldn't change it. Then I got sucked into OT and figured a personalized avatar would help people skip over my posts or home in on them.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

I change avatar, sig and title regularly.

 

[Fifty]

I had my kramer for quite awhile but now that Mike Tyson is my hero I had to represent!

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

So that its easier to identify each poster.

When you have been here a lot longer you have more of a persona, as TLC said.

I change mine to suit whatever I want at the time, which is quite regularly.

 

[Raisin Bran]

I just like having a custom avatar, anywhere I go I always use something custom not only here !

The internet is a big wide place, so to get a bit of personality, its my way to do it !

I have presonality when im not on the net but it dosent show on the net!

 

[Sashie VII]

I'm new (a month or so?) to CFC forums, although I signed up quite a few years ago. Used the C3C Crusader at first, then felt that it's a bit too common since anyone who wants to use it can do so.

You see the joker smiling, you're seeing MY post!

 

[shortguy]

I'm back to my first custom avatar (the pile o' pastry), and I've spent time with Rather Dashing (Peasant Quest hero), A University of Virginia logo, and another (much less appealing, I might add) pile o' pastry.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

I wanted to use the Crusader avatar but i saw a lot of ppl have that, so i had the Hospitaller Knight instead.
After that i had this one.

The reason why so many ppl on the on-topic forums have "standard" avatars is because most of them are newbies and do not have 30 posts & 30 days. Or they have that and don't care much about the forum and only enter for help, mods, hints, stuff ... not OT and spam.

 

[Sashie VII]

Or they have that and don't care much about the forum and only enter for help, mods, hints, stuff ... not OT and spam

IOW they don't post for fun like some of us...

 

[De Lorimier]

I had my kramer for quite awhile but now that Mike Tyson is my hero I had to represent!

Yeah, that convicted rapist rules!

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

If I were just posting about Civilization, my particular pesrpective/point of view would be similar to everyone else's, and what I would be saying would not be particularly distinct. But here in the OT what I have to say is unique to me, so I want an avatar that makes me easily identifiable - and I, in turn, usually identify posters by avatar, not username. It always throws me a little when somenone changes theirs.

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

I actually changed to Mr.T as soon as I had a custom avatar available... before that I used the dragon.

I have probably had over 20 avatars in around 2 years, thats nearly one a month... I find it hard to tie one down.

 

[Joeb WK]

I orgionally had a green saxon warrior I think and then this was followed by a series of slightly lame post war themed avatars before I got my current one which still includes my post wars mole. I don't think I'll change from my current one from a long while, I like continuity and people constantly changing confuses me.

 

[Masquerouge]

I really wanted a civ-related avatar, but one that was kinda related to my nick, and also would not be used by anybody else.
Hence the civ2, custom-content avatar. So far no one else has used it