Maybe it's a stupid question but...

janas

janas

Bangel in the soul
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When you interact in a thread with another person, does the avatar and the signature of your interlocutor affect you?
I have to say yes, I know it is a stupid and limiting thing, but if my interlocutor has an avatar of a character I love, I am well disposed towards him, even before reading the post.

Does it happen to you too?
 
I think the same way. I kind of want to change mine to a different character because right now it's so obvious that I'm biased towards Faith so it feels kind of more awkward to talk about her because people won't think it's objective. Which it's not but still 😄

It's nicer to see characters you love in people's avatars.

But then since I've changed my username recently I want to keep this avatar anyway.
 
Not really.

BUT I do get to associate a person with their avatar. I'm fully aware that a person may be another gender than their icon, isn't the same person, etc. But it's convenient to know who it is, and before BB, it was standard that people stuck with one, or only rarely changed it (typically announcing it). The name was even more solid rather than mutable, unlike BB. (Obviously, I'm talking of my own experiences, and I've stayed off many popular social media sites.)

BB confuses me. It's to the point that when someone else took the same avatar I had at the time that I kept thinking I must've posted there but had no recollection of it. I eventually dropped the avatar and go with the generic T now.

I've thought of changing my online name to Moloch (or equivalent if it's taken, like Molok), and if I do, I'll probably take back the kitty avatar as it amuses me to combine them. But to even change my name would turn my T to a M, and that by itself is one of the reasons that makes me hesitate.

(As it is, I didn't think I'd get too active here, so I was lazy and just went with an email account, which is a combination of two childhood nickhames.)
 
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epimetrius
epimetrius
You could always go with like "The Moloch," though that does sound a little silly.
thrasherpix said:
Not really.

BUT I do get to associate a person with their avatar. I'm fully aware that a person may be another gender than their icon, isn't the same person, etc. But it's convenient to know who it is, and before BB, it was standard that people stuck with one, or only rarely changed it (typically announcing it). The name was even more solid rather than mutable, unlike BB. (Obviously, I'm talking of my own experiences, and I've stayed off many popular social media sites.)

BB confuses me. It's to the point that when someone else took the same avatar I had at the time that I kept thinking I must've posted there but had no recollection of it. I eventually dropped the avatar and go with the generic T now.

I've thought of changing my online name to Moloch (or equivalent if it's taken, like Molok), and if I do, I'll probably take back the kitty avatar as it amuses me to combine them. But to even change my name would turn my T to a M, and that by itself is one of the reasons that makes me hesitate.

(As it is, I didn't think I'd get too active here, so I was lazy and just went with an email account, which is a combination of two childhood nickhames.)
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This. I associate people with avatars and names. It really throws me when someone I’ve been conversing with for a while changes their av because I become so accustomed to looking for that picture. Likewise names. Of course, I can’t remember the Avatars I used to use but since I added this Billy one (in maybe 2015??) I haven’t changed it for that reason. Also because I love the representation.
 
Cohen said:
This. I associate people with avatars and names. It really throws me when someone I’ve been conversing with for a while changes their av because I become so accustomed to looking for that picture. Likewise names. Of course, I can’t remember the Avatars I used to use but since I added this Billy one (in maybe 2015??) I haven’t changed it for that reason. Also because I love the representation.
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Same with me. It throws me when someone changes their avatar, though fortunately I've gotten to know regular posters well enough that I still recognize who they are!

And @Cohen, thanks for confirming that your avatar is Billy from the comics. I've always wondered if that's who it was!

But to @janas original question, I don't think I react to people based on whether I like the character they've chosen as avatar. I guess if someone chose Billy (from AtS, not the comics), I might think that was an odd choice!

@Bop - what name did you use before?
 
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Bop
Bop
My old username was Athene :)
Cohen said:
This. I associate people with avatars and names. It really throws me when someone I’ve been conversing with for a while changes their av because I become so accustomed to looking for that picture.
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I second…or uh, third? this notion! If someone like Antho or Cohen ever changed their image, I think I’d be thrown for a total loop since I’ve interacted with them for so long 😵

To your point @janas , I guess…? I mean, really I don’t think too much about it. My brain is probably wired differently, but I immediately jump to a person’s content before I do their profile picture or name to see if I’ll agree with them. Are the pretty images or cool names a bonus? Absolutely! Everybody here has an intense sense of style and uniqueness about them, such as @thrasherpix , whose favorite character is clearly the famous “pink background with T in front” from Buffy. 😉 I joke, but seriously it’s nice to see such cool stuff and individuality. I just gauge my interest off of what somebody writes first and foremost 🙂
 
No it doesn't change me . As a forum user I am biased by join date and post count though , especially on an unfamiliar forum .

I do get quite a lot of pleasure out of the evolving sigs that people have here . It's kinda fun seeing them made and used .
 
@Cohen I think they just need to be Whedonverse related.

Anyanka had one of Bucky/The Winter Soldier for awhile (and still might), and I’m pretty sure he never popped up in Buffy 😉
 
I don't think so, it's more about the poster for me, what kind of vibe I get, I memorize posters. There was some aggressive posters & whatnot in the past that send a bad vibe. A poster could have an avatar/signature of Kennedy (that I hate), Angel (that I'm neutral) or Spike (that I love) or other, if that poster send me a good vibe by their posts I don't mind the poster no matter if he/she is/n't a fan of what I like/love. There's posters that I freaking like interacting with even if we have differing opinions/likability on characters like Wesley & Spike. Also there is surely some other things that we agree about or like even if not everything.
 
I think yeah sometimes, Here less so, in other forums, I can immediately feel a judgement call being made in the back of my head. I always hate when I manage to accurately assume positions. Though, here I tend to just look at names mostly and am entertained by av's, cool to know which characters people like or associate with.
 
I suppose I could understand an instinctual reaction to judge a poster by their avatar a lil' bit; whether they have a character you like or dislike or maybe a crazy pink T like @thrasherpix does it might make an impression. At least at first, then it goes away.

The reaction being there at all is because- presumably- the avatar is there for that member to enjoy because they identify with it, so it might tell them something fundamental about them. Or maybe they don't care and it doesn't. Any shallow judgement would probably be wrong anyway.

Except me at the moment, Eliza in a catsuit is pretty so that says I'm bias and shallow. lol
 
It’s been at least 3 years I have this avatar now 😀. I hope people like it because I’m not going to change it. Though I could change it just to bother Plasma 😂.
 
Well, I do not think that you asking that question was stupid janas, well, you know, I wouldn't say you asking that was stupid.

Maybe that is an admission that some members who are in Black Thorn are nice people, news to consider for the independents.
 
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