Avatars

I have started changing my avatar when doing a big project to something related to the current project. For example currently my avatar is a running man image of Mr. Pentium from my Upcycling IoT Design Challenge project.

It is a bit disappointing that the system cannot remember older avatars or allow a number of avatars to be uploaded into a pool to choose from..

Is avatar switching a good way to keep the forum more dynamic and more interesting? Or just a bad idea?

Is the project related avatar a nice touch or a total non-issue?

Or is it just confusing with no value add?

Is avatar recognition useful (so important not to change) or in some fashion a comfortable aspect of avatars?

Do you find it painful to setup an Avatar or even undesirable?

Top Replies

beacon_dave over 1 year ago

When you are at-mentioning someone, then the avatar can sometimes help confirm the username.
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genebren over 1 year ago

I did enjoy seeing your Avatar swap, so much so that I switched my (although not project related). I did notice that the old Avatar list was missing, which made me a little sad .
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robogary over 1 year ago

To me, the Avatar is like having a brand logo. Even if the avatar is an old photo, I don't like to change a good one.

It becomes your instant recognition. I recognize your postings simply by your avatar.......or I used to. :-)

If you want to change your "brand" and start a new publishing path, create a fresh start, direction, reputation, by all means, do so.
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beacon_dave over 1 year ago

One thing I've noticed is that the avatars are often a bit on the small side to make out clearly but I think the only place you get to see them in more detail is if you spot one in a member's friends list:

Even if you hover over the username, you don't always get enough detail:
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dougw over 1 year ago in reply to beacon_dave

Good point - I definitely use them in that way.
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dougw over 1 year ago in reply to robogary

I will always go back to a standard avatar after a temporary project avatar has run its course.

I recall element14 once asked us to temporarily change our avatar.

Trivia question:

Was the whole Despicable Me Minion fad on element14 initiated by element14?
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dougw over 1 year ago in reply to beacon_dave

That is why my normal avatar is a close crop of my face - it is a bit more recognizable when shrunk all the way down.
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kmikemoo over 1 year ago

I'm with beacon_dave that I use the avatar to make sure I'm @mentioning the right person.

I change my avatar at work every year.

As you can see, they're wearing me down.
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dang74 over 1 year ago

I had noticed that your avatar had changed recently. I suspected that it was some tie-in that would eventually make sense. This was the case previously with the little baseball cap with the Superman logo on it. It was mysterious at first but then it all made sense once your Super Cap projects were unveiled.

In terms of whether it's good to change avatars or keep them the same, I think that decision is up to the individual. The Super Cap thing was very cool by the way. This was, in part, due to the nice little a-ha moment I had once its meaning was understood.

I've been busy as of late and not keeping up with all the happenings at e14, but I should set some time aside to check out the entries for the Upcycling challenge.
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colporteur over 1 year ago

You have way more on the ball then I do. The changes keep it fresh. Since I am an individual that is not comfortable with change, it rarely appears in my work.

I get satisfaction from learning how to do it, then learning how to do it right and then making changes to make it efficient. Right and efficient my one two combination.
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