Avatars: Why did you choose yours?

Lots of people on ATS have an avatar, which I suppose is to convey 'something' about themselves.

I have had the wife and collegues asking if I am on a forum with children because of some them.

So why did you feel the need to have an avatar, why did you choose the one you have and what does it convey about you?


[edit on 23/6/2010 by LightFantastic]

I chose mine because it represents who I want to be all the time, rather than who I am sometimes...

I keep on meaning to do an avatar that represents the way i feel for boards, but never do it.

Avatars i think your right do represent something in you, just like the way you dress.

Because the kids want techno.. And I want people to know that!



[edit on 23/6/10 by Dermo]

I chose to have an avatar because I decided to stay rather than lurk, register and move on like I have a habit of doing. Creating an avatar is akin to setting the parking brake or dropping anchor for me in the context of an online forum.

The reasons I chose to use a picture of myself was to show that I am not one who likes to hide and thus indicates that I am without fear.

The reason I have a colourful representation of the Mandelbrot set behind me is that I love fractals and see them as being linked vitally to furthering human consciousness as learning is infinite and never stops. I like the Mandelbrot set because it reminds me of a sitting Buddha and as I love various forms of meditation this really does float my boat.




[edit on 23-6-2010 by SmokeJaguar67]

I guess my avatar represents me because I want to put an end to the lives of people that would use their power to better themselves and keep the world enslaved for their benefit. Also, the dude can climb up buildings and survive falls from four storey buildings. That's something I can't do. Plus he has cool hidden blades and outfit. Both of which I don't have.

if the power of mind and art is understood, there is great potential for altering what "is"

some might call it magic or magick or even a miracle
i like: 'the science of spectral shamanism'

but really it is just mind over matter


and it can be fun kind of like "dress-up"
i usually choose avatars that show the innermost part of the real me - and i can pretend it has nothing to do with me, at all, if i want

probably no one notices, anyway
i do notice, however, the absence of an avatar!

My avatar is a picture of me!

People say I'm clever for a cat.

reply to post by Whine Flu


Na i think you get the meaning of what op is all about wrong. Symbolic meanings is what you bring out, like how you dress.

Your avatars like your dreams have symbolic meanings to you, not literal.

I have uploaded quite a few avatars to ATS. Most are humorous pictures and some are pictures of anime characters. not that I'm a fan of anime. just that anime fans make the best avatars.

[edit on 23-6-2010 by Romantic_Rebel]

reply to post by andy1033


I think the symbolism of my avatar is self-explanatory.

Mine is the equation for creation. It is art.

PI by the square root of circle to the power of infinity.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


But each must have some meaning to you, or you would not have put them up there to represent you on here. People reading your post will make judgements about you on your avatar as people judge you by your dress code.

Mine is just a cool picture, i mean it's a nice bit of art and you should be able to pick the reference. Monkey, monolith and club kind of gives it a way. Maybe it says something of my nature but i doubt it, but then again we are no more than beasts.

edit: Basically just adding more lines so you can see the full picture.








[edit on 23-6-2010 by pazcat]

Is the OP saying his colleagues think he posts with a bunch of kids because some of us use avvies? I got that impression from the OP. Or that having avvies is childish?

Why does anyone care what someone else's avvie is chosen for, anyway? I would think it is obvious to anyone except maybe a child.

reply to post by andy1033


I agree with you. Some people have already commented on my avatars. I do have a few that represent my ideas about economics, politics, and others. My friend is a moderate on a video game forum. Every user has avatars and signatures from their favorite video games and shows. Like them I never really put much effort in making my avatar special.

reply to post by SmokeJaguar67


Actually smoke my wife commented on your avatar with "he looks like he can whip some ass!" Looks can be decieving! I had an assistant in a bookshop ask if I had been dragged there by the wife!

Thanks for your reasoning it makes sense to me - sadly I know nothing of art and symbolism.

The mandelbrot set in that orientation does look a lot like a sitting Bhudda.



[edit on 23/6/2010 by LightFantastic]

I change mine from time to time. My avatar is not a representation of who I am or how I'm feeling. I'm not that deep, or anal. I just go with what I think looks cool at that particular time.

EDIT: Although, now that I think about it...I'm certainly quite fiery, some might say explosive, and I know for a fact that my wife would say that I'm definetely gaseous from time to time.


[edit on 23-6-2010 by RMFX1]

Originally posted by hotbakedtater
Is the OP saying his colleagues think he posts with a bunch of kids because some of us use avvies? I got that impression from the OP. Or that having avvies is childish?

Why does anyone care what someone else's avvie is chosen for, anyway? I would think it is obvious to anyone except maybe a child.

I am saying the former, maybe I should re-write the post... I don't think that having an avatar is childish. If all the avatars were like yours I'm sure I wouldn't have had the comments.

It wasn't obvious to me why people chose their particular avatar and I am certainly not a child. Or stupid. I am simply trying to understand what makes people tick.

VLADIMIR: There's man all over for you, blaming on his boots the faults of his feet. (He takes off his hat again, peers inside it, feels about inside it, knocks on the crown, blows into it, puts it on again.) This is getting alarming. (Silence. Vladimir deep in thought, Estragon pulling at his toes.) One of the thieves was saved. (Pause.) It's a reasonable percentage. (Pause.) Gogo.

ESTRAGON: What?

VLADIMIR: Suppose we repented.

ESTRAGON: Repented what?

VLADIMIR: Oh . . . (He reflects.) We wouldn't have to go into the details.

ESTRAGON: Our being born?

(Vladimir breaks into a hearty laugh which he immediately stifles, his hand pressed to his pubis, his face contorted.)

VLADIMIR: One daren't even laugh any more.

ESTRAGON: Dreadful privation.

VLADIMIR: Merely smile. (He smiles suddenly from ear to ear, keeps smiling, ceases as suddenly.) It's not the same thing. Nothing to be done. (Pause.) Gogo.

ESTRAGON: (irritably). What is it?

VLADIMIR: Did you ever read the Bible?

ESTRAGON: The Bible . . . (He reflects.) I must have taken a look at it.

VLADIMIR: Do you remember the Gospels?

ESTRAGON: I remember the maps of the Holy Land. Coloured they were. Very pretty. The Dead Sea was pale blue. The very look of it made me thirsty. That's where we'll go, I used to say, that's where we'll go for our honeymoon. We'll swim. We'll be happy.

VLADIMIR: You should have been a poet.

ESTRAGON: I was. (Gesture towards his rags.) Isn't that obvious?

(Silence.)

~Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett~

[edit on 23-6-2010 by Jean Paul Zodeaux]