Forums > Site Announcements > Changing how avatars work around the site

Sometime today or over the weekend, I plan to do some coding that will represent a long-overdue modification to how personal avatars work around the site.

Currently, users can select an avatar for some parts of the site, such as reviews and forums, and another avatar for blog posts. They're both tied to the same account, however. One avatar can be chosen freely, based on images the user submits. The other avatar can only be chosen from an approved selection provided by myself and various contributors over the years. This has led to a few prominent contributors going for the same avatar, which occasionally makes things a bit confusing.

Originally, the setup was in place because I wanted to avoid people contributing disgusting images that violated site guidelines. Also, site features weren't really set in place back in the day. Those of you who were around the site in those earliest of days likely remember (not so fondly) how many features came and went, or changed dramatically. Things are a lot more stable now, by design. Changes tend to be much smaller, part of an effort to streamline the interface and site features so we can put all of our focus on content.

This upcoming change may evidence a few rough edges, especially at first. I'll need to set things up so that older accounts continue to display whatever avatar someone at one time chose from the available list, but newer accounts that have uploaded an image of their own will display that image consistently around the site. I'll be doing some tricky coding on a few pages to make all of that happen. This is just a message to let you know to anticipate that tweak.

The end result, once everything is done, will probably not look a whole lot different from what you see now, but things should be simpler and more consistent on your end, with your avatar managed from your standard Settings page here on the main site and nowhere else. If some people decide to upload offensive images as their avatars, we can take corrective action at that time, but I don't anticipate that being an issue.

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality

"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto on secret doors to another world2

Okay, this change APPEARS to have been implemented successfully, with no damage done anywhere. The avatar that you upload on your Settings page here on the main site will be the one that appears anywhere on the site. If you haven't uploaded an avatar in the past but had selected an avatar from the image database, that avatar will appear instead. If you have never uploaded an avatar and never selected an image, the wannabe Cheetos will serve as your avatar until such a time as you upload your desired avatar. This should make things much simpler around the site, while making sure users who haven't been around in ages won't suddenly start appearing as potato chips again. Whew!

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality

"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto on secret doors to another world2