Are u biased in favor of a poster for their avatar?

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I am more interested in the text which a person writes than their avatar, I find the avatars useful as they help me to recall who is who in a hurry.

"maybe"

For some reason that particular capture always makes me feel like I'm looking at a wax model of Jim Parsons, rather than a real person.

Some avatars affect my impression of their user, some don't. A few really annoy me, and that makes me wonder if the user chose it with that intent in mind.

I chose mine because ever since the original novel (Ratman's Notebooks) was published back in '68, I've always identified with the character as the model 'bullied underdog finally getting justice' (okay, and a little coldly satisfying revenge) from oppressive social authoritarianism. The autistic kid strikes back.

Avatars only affect me when they're bouncy. The moving avatars kind of give me a headache, so I tend to skim past posts that have them. Same with the moving advertisments. I have to put my hand over some of them.

I enjoy seeing what people choose as their avatars, here and on the other forums I've participated in during the past 18 years. But I can't say that I get any particular impression from avatars. Then too, I don't get a so-called first impression when I initially meet a person in meatspace.

But if an avatar contains something I like or am interested in, then I probably have an unconscious positive bias toward it.

And one of these months soon I'll come up with an avatar for myself. Selection will no doubt be analytical and systematic, as is the case with so many things I do.

Avatars can have a huge affect on how i percieve someone, because avatars tend to convey a lot of information.

I simply hit the "ESC" key on my keyboard when I want the avatar to stop moving.

I live in the old Colonies, shouldn't be any surprise, you know how us Colonials can get.

How's this one work for somebody who is Bipolar?
There's always the "Dark Side" lurking in the background, plotting and scheming, dreaming of dark activities to spring on the unsuspecting and naive "Light Side" on a moonless night.

Last edited by southwestforests on 02 Aug 2009, 6:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I love avatars, and it is a good window into the psyche of the owner.

I do adblock the odd one though, if they disturb me for some reason.

I've not diagnosed anyone from their avatar as of yet But i tend to look favourable upon people who are cyclothymic or bipolar.

Simpleton Simpsons topic

I do not care for the Simpsons, especially Bart, and when I see Simpsons characters as avatars I am negatively influenced.

What is "the Colonies", southwest?

Oh, umm, sorry, imported a sort of "in joke" from a model RR forum I'm on that uses the same layout and format this one does, so sometimes they connect together in my brain.
Most of the people on in are in the UK, and we joke about those of us in US, Australia, and New Zealand, and other of the old British Empire colonies, being untrustworthy rebellious traitors of nefarious intention.

Yup.

It depends on if it's one of the form ones, or a personal one. I don't always know if it is or not, but that affects how I perceive it. I can't help but be a bit influenced by it, but one that was just picked from a list doesn't say as much as one that somebody uploaded. And one that's just like a snapshot doesn't say quite as much as one that's carefully created and all. I keep meaning to make a more interesting one for myself on here. Now it's just my cat napping. Would be nice if I could get a good picture of my cat and dog together. Actually I just got a ferret (fell in love with her at the pet store..) so if I could get a good picture of the three of them together, that'd be better. But it's kinda a small image for three animals... Maybe I should alternate. lol

So it also depends on how intentional the avatar they've chosen seems. Probably a lot of it is just in my head, or I read more into it than there really is. It's the only visual association I have for people on here.

That's a good idea. As for avatars, I find that sometimes I don't really notice them. Upon occasion, one will catch my eye, and I will love it. When it's owner changes the avatar, I feel sad. Not sure if they influence how I feel about the poster, though.

Mostly not. The words mean nearly everything to me. Some images can be aversive, such as bright, close-up facial shots, but this is a sensory thing.