I've always wondered this but why do some people in forums have blank or default avatars?

Surely avatars are a way to make you unique and set yourself apart from everyone else. Having the default avatar won't make your posts stand out and usually won't get you recognized at all in the community (from what i've seen).

Not to mention that for me personally, i'm more drawn to reading someones post if they have an avatar than i am to somebody who doesn't.

I don't know, i guess it's akin to me thinking that on some forums a lot of 'trolls' don't bother to change their avatar since they know they will get banned after a few posts so i tend to not read what they say, but i want to know the communitys thoughts on this.

Also if you are someone who has the default avatar, what's your reasoning for not having an avatar?

I used to be avatar-less, but then I took a brain to the head.

Maybe they're just law-abiding citizens who don't want to be lumped together with the rest of us copyright infringing pirate bastards? ;)

Some people just want to watch the world burn.

Let me answer that then. Up there, where it says "My Posts", "My Questions", "My Settings", "Help".

I've been active on the site now since about December. I only realized and noticed it last week. And I had the "New User" tag right with me all this time, so I changed it. Basically, the forum, it isn't straight forward for a new user, it's not like most other forums where you have a single account page that you change all your options through. You've got separate settings through "My Account" and "My Settings", but "My Settings" is easy to ignore.

As for not having an avatar.... Well, it's not particularly like most people know me anyway yet. And changing into a new Avatar will throw off the ones who do, looking for me by username attached to a silhouette image.

Agreed. Personally I found it easy to spot the settings for your avatar (My Account), but I had to ask for help on finding where to change the text next to it (forum).

Yeah! And what about people with no middle names? What's THAT about :P

I have an avatar pic in the GOG forums (as evidenced to the left ;) ), and use the same picture on several other platforms, but I went without avatars in many forums for a long time. There were three reasons for this:

1. I believe that the actual message of a post is much more relevant or important than the person who writes it. Therefore, using avatars detracts from the important parts of the post and adds to the noise.

2. I don't especially like it to be in the spotlight. I feel most comfortable when I can contribute whenever I want to, but can vanish as well whenever I like, with nobody missing me or starting to look for me. Using a distinct online personality, as demonstrated by an avatar, is counterproductive to that.

3. _If_ I chose an avatar despite points (1) and (2), I wanted one that really fits. For years, I knew exactly what my avatar picture should look like if I had one; however, such a picture was not available. About half a year ago, I found the motive that I wanted on a stock images site, and actually paid a small amount of money for a license. Since then I've started to use it on the platforms where I'm more active.

Some of these reasons will probably sound strange to others, but hey, it's just how I feel. ;) Also, keep in mind that I have used usenet and mailing lists for a long time, so I know very well that avatars are totally unnecessary for having a decent discussion.

I remember you most for your unusual reversed quoting style.

There are other ways to stand out and be remembered as well. Like making a silly thread about "cleansing" Skyrim. :p

it might be more relevant but an avatar does give a face to someone even if its not their own face. get 10 pieces of text together and guess who is who. or get 10 avatars and you know alot easier who is who.

people look and judge a text regardless of an avatar that is attached with it.

I've used forums for nearly 10 years, never found an avatar I wanted. Until I do, I shall remain "faceless" and unknown.

Lol.

Although for this particular forum, I'm infringing myself with my Avatar.

Laziness mainly, but if it bothers some, I'll add an avatar.

*edit* Alright, friendly looking dragon added.