An Avatar By Any Other Name....The Psychology of Avatars

reply to post by operation mindcrime



I think he looks like Lithgow. When I read his posts.. I hear Lithgow. There's some psychology for you. Damn avatars manipulating me.

Well my username is a homage to Nikola Tesla & my avatar represents my overriding personality traits, that & my niece calls me "Old Wolf".

K~

reply to post by _BoneZ_


Ha, another good one..Man, i could quote O'Neill all day long..Perhaps we should create a Col. O'Neill quote thread?? It'll end up on BTS, but that's ok

Truth is faceless, merciless, cold, survival in life is to carve a path through it with passion and dreams; your Soul beckons to bleed with truth and cut through darkness.

Because touching final moment, your personal event horizon, you are alone, and your karma will catch up with you, you need to take what you have learned and transcend into light. Life is ruthless for the unprepared. Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.

Originally posted by smyleegrl

The current avatar was a random made by Kinglizard in the Avatar creations thread. I took to it because of the Monster symbol at the top, which resembles my latest bike. It's a little cliched, but the bike looks good, all black with green wheels and the Monster energy logo over it. It also has a graffiti-esque style to it, another big part of my life as I help local artists with legalised graffiti works.

Others tend to revolve around the whole Templar knight theme or even the wolf theme, as I am a huge fan of wolves. The Templar name was a nickname that stuck many years ago, as one of my first D&D character drawings my friends all said it looked like a Templar Knight, and the name stuck. Out of my original group of 7 friends there are only three left alive now, so it is more a memorial name to those friends I've lost. 7&4 are just my lucky numbers.

I do tend to look for certain avatars when I read posts, mainly because certain posters always have interesting reads regardless of topics, and there are those I have forged friendships with here and it's always interesting to hear what they have to say too.

1. I stole mine from a friend who is a funny chap

2. I tend to ignore posts with no avatar, just one of my ats prejudices, also the ones of knights Templars, I find a bit weird and also the ones of mythical female characters are kind of odd.

I'm always suspicious of those avatars of really attractive women.

Hi OP, what a great thread as I have often thought how avatars influence people's answers to oneself. If I had the picture of a nice girl, I would get far more lenient conversations than I get with this 'worm' thingy. However I chose avatars by how I feel at the moment. And I like the unusual, deliberately. I like what others hate or find horrible. I am one for the underdog [or in my case the under-worm]. In some strange way I find my avatar cute [yeah, I AM mad].

As for others, no avatars change my opinion about a poster as I read first and then check out the avatar. However if I am not sure if they are into god and I see a cross or a jesus, then my opinion about them gets confirmed. Often when I am confused about a posts meaning, the avatar can clear up for me if they are 'my kind of people' or not.

I used to change avatars regularly but nit on ATS because there are so many people on here and I have got to know some posters only by avatar [I am dreadful with names] and when they change, I don't recognise them any longer.
So I'll keep wormy for this site in order for others to notice that it is moany old me. [I'm not really that bad].

I don't think avatars have influenced my view of a person's post. Really, it's just what they have to say that I like or don't like. It is tough to be completely unbiased though. There are definitely some avatars that bug me, annoy me, and some are just plain frightening!

I don't like it when members change their avatars daily, weekly etc. I can understand needing a fresh change every now and then. But I tend to ignore the members who constantly change avatars (and even write threads about their new avatar etc.) A constantly indecisive avatar choice doesn't inspire much confidence in me.

I also tend to not like portrait avatars. Some work, some don't. Is the portrait related to the username? or related to ATS? Or does it say something meaningful? Then I tend to like those more. If it's just a vanity shot--I tend to not like those avatars. Some avatars show a member in uniform or something along those lines. Those are just fine with me. Some are just plainclothes people giving a thumbs up or something generic. Those are not really my style. It kind of defeats the purpose of being an 'avatar' if you're just going to show off your normal look.

On that same note..I can't believe how many members have pictures of a dog as their avatar haha. I'm not much of a dog person (although I have just signed up to volunteer with the animal shelter to help groom, socialize, and care for cats and dogs. Maybe I'll learn something.) I just don't see the point of posting doggy pics. I don't like it. What does it really say about that member except that they love their dog?

Many times I read a post without realizing that the avatar is from a member I'm familiar with, but has changed it. However, I pretty much have the same attitudes based on what they post..and then look at their new avatar and think, "yep, I knew it was you..shoulda known."

Like another poster said, I like when the avatar reflects the username in some way. My current avatar is my 2nd pick. My original one reflected my username. But, I found my original avatar used on facebook as one of those "I like this..here's a picture of it" icons. I had to change it after that kind of blemishing!

My current avatar is the ELO symbol of a jukebox speaker stylized to look like a UFO with the shuttle docking in it (one of their album covers.) This mostly reflects what music I've been into this year. But I love the mystery and surrealism of the image.

My username itself is just a contradiction in terms to reflect my personal conflicting attitudes. On the one hand, I am 'awake' (buddha) metaphorically, but I am also very tired--both literally and metaphorically. The name shows opposite extremes and my hope to find some equilibrium between them.

Avatars and usernames probably influence our attitudes toward members more than we think though. It's pretty much the equivalent of what we wear, how we present ourselves, and what facial expressions we generally show. None of us is immune to making snap judgements based on these kinds of things. That's why we have to look past the avatars and names and read what a person has to say. Everybody is going to see something different in an avatar and interpret it differently.

My avatar is a regal looking Dane saying "That sir, is not my issue"

Found it when I uploaded some pics of my Dane to a site.

Just love that regal look of Danes, and that is about it.

vvv

My avatar represents my blood-thirsty warrior spirit. It frightens some people, but that's how I roll.

My name? I asked my son (he was 7 at the time) for a name to use.

Ta-daaa!

1 it's me lol, I can't be recognised by it ( and I always cover my face in some way on ops ), as far as I know it's nowhere else on the net, and those that may recognise me will either sweat or smile

2 yes I do pay attention to avatars but also cross reference with names, always on the hunt lol

S&F because I always have wondered the same about peoples avatars...

I chose my name because it is my nickname. I am an avid astrologer and wanna be astronomer since about my 5th grade science project on the solar system...

My avatar matches my personality. I feel is shows my inner strength, power, gentleness and beauty. It reminds me that I can transform and change, reminding me of my totem of owls, hawks and dragons.

I too get turned off by creepy avatars. It makes me wonder about the person who uses them. I usually try not to read them especially if they are in a thread that has no stars compared to others who post near them. Does that make sense?

The more aesthetically appealing, the more interested I am in reading what they have to say.... what can I say, I am also an artist among many other things..

I am however, ready for a change..

1. Because I love TmnT, I see myself in them, they are very important to me, and I consider them as family.

2.Yes, I think that the avatar reflect alot about the user

Nothing special about my avatar; I usually avoid giving away personal details online, especially pics of my self, or my kids, or my dogs lol , so I thought going with some of the things I admire will be ok. I first had a pic of Jack Sparrow, I love his character, and generally Johnny Depp as an actor,and I find very easy to identify with.... Then I was caught by this TV show, Sons of Anarchy, which I thought it's awesome and one of a kind, and have a damn good music ....so I changed my avatar accordingly. ( that is not me, is the main actor ). Even if my preferences are defining me somehow, they are still general enough for my taste. I'm a very private person.

The user name is from a real hat, a white one, I used to wear all the time when I just registered here. And it sounds good.

As for the second question, yes, I find myself influenced by people's avatar, but not enough to have standard reactions to their posts. Some I admire, some I can't get the creepiness. One was so funny I even wrote to the user to congratulate him. I notice that some people have avatars that fits their attitude a lot, while others are completely misleading you. But usually I just read the posts, and go with the content, not with the package.

I'm now paranoid after reading all the responses about creepy avatars freaking people out and influencing how the posts are read. I have to ask...

Am I creepy?

And, there's no deep meaning behind my avatar. I ran across him one day, adopted him and took him home. He does occasionally represent my reaction to some of the more outlandish posts that I read.

'Always liked yours, Smyleegrl, and Schuyler's. Yours does convey a sense of feminine power and Schuyler was a great dog -- you can just tell. But my deepest admiration is for the bunny.

Originally posted by graceunderpressure
I'm now paranoid after reading all the responses about creepy avatars freaking people out and influencing how the posts are read. I have to ask...

Am I creepy?

And, there's no deep meaning behind my avatar. I ran across him one day, adopted him and took him home. He does occasionally represent my reaction to some of the more outlandish posts that I read.

'Always liked yours, Smyleegrl, and Schuyler's. Yours does convey a sense of feminine power and Schuyler was a great dog -- you can just tell. But my deepest admiration is for the bunny.

Your avatar is nice, I love animals, even if they have creepy eyes...
Also there is a lot of humor there, so don't worry.

1. So....how did you choose your avatar?

My name and avatar go together, and are based on my occupation... they have significance to me, which is why it hasn't changed in going on two years. Although king lizard enhanced mine recently, and I like the direction he went so well, I'm thinking of asking him to go all purple, since it is my favorite color.

2. When you read a post, do you pay attention to the poster's avatar? If so, does the avatar ever influence your response or moderate your reply?

I do pay attention to avatars, and have looked up the meaning to more than one user name, or variations thereof. Avatars do have an influence on how I view that member to some degree. But I consciously try to respond to a members post, not their avatar.

You already know I love your avatar. To me, it fits you.

The Psychology of Avatars?
Hhhmmm...

I think it's easy for us to take ourselves too seriously.
I just want people to laugh when they see my avatar.

Plus I love Photoshop!

Here are a couple others I've used:

I would suppose that most members would assume that I am a drunk. Well I have not drank alcohol for several years sense a couple of heart attacks and a mini stroke changed my life forever.
I missed my bourbon and would say to myself over and over throughout the days and evenings "no bourbon tonight"
as I knew that it could no longer be.
Now some may say that I have appeared to be drunk while posting but in reality the affects of the stroke have made it very difficult to express my thoughts while typing or writing, not to mention that I can only use one hand and arm to type.
As for my avatar I just thought most older members would remember Otis. And who didnt like Otis?
When I joined a.t.s. I inadvertently left "no" off in front of bourbon2night but alas I couldnt change it so there it is.
Now I need a nap. You have no idea how long it took me to type this lol.

1. So....how did you choose your avatar?

Wolverine speaks to me. He's Canadian, tough but he cares. Pretty much sums me up imo.

2. When you read a post, do you pay attention to the poster's avatar? If so, does the avatar ever influence your response or moderate your reply?

Yes... and no. Avvys for me are merely identification. I hate it when members change their avvys daily. Then I actually have to read the names. No, you'll get from what I'm going to say regardless of the avvy.