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So, I made a thread some time back that was partially just for fun (cat avatars), but this one's more serious. So, how do avatar's and usernames influence how a user is perceived? Some combinations make a user seem more brash and rough than they really are and some make a user seem silly while others make a user seem more friendly and welcoming. Feel free to discuss this and provide examples. Examples are always good.

One example I have are that at least to me, ever since RandomMan got his newer avatar, he's been less intimidating. It's weird. Not sure what it was about his classic one that made him seem more serious or harsh. I can think of plenty more, but I just want to hear some other examples first before making any more,

Captin Blubber's avatar always makes me want to have a seizure and die, or maybe those are just his posts.

I actually don't take too much attention of users avatars. Maybe I recongnize some users because of it (for example RamdomMan 's bunny or Bluescreen of Death's Blue pony) but other than those I only pay attention for what they write (there's certain user that Im not very fond off but I just don't bother paying attention to him)

People change their avatars too often for them to form any kind of influence for me

I don't think my avatar represents me in anyway, i just use it because it seems like I'm the only one who uses it on the internet and anything else would be unoriginal.

My Avatar makes my eyes hurt
(just like my face)

I try to use a comedic avatar of my character usually.

Avatars are usually of little consequence as long as they aren't really overused (Paper Mario 1upping Peach comes to mind.) or really distracting. Forum signatures are more likely to bother me.

I'm a much bigger stickler for usernames, however. There are certain portions that I've seen used in screen names ad nauseum since I lost my Internet virginity back in the late 90's. Many of those I still see in use, much to my dismay. If you're got something "bordering" your entire username like a bunch of X's or whatever, that's no good. The words "dark," "angel," "azn," (Short for asian I guess?), basically any of the stereotypical stuff you see in parody usernames, and the numbers 420, 69, and 666. I really don't think it's that hard to come up with a semi-unique username that still appeals to you. If you use any of these, I'm liable to have a rather poor impression of you. Skin-deep, I know, but I have lots of peeves that happen to be my pets.

Beyond that, I'm really bad with names. It took me quite some time before I started realizing that I was running into Jesus of New York all the time, and I'm just now starting to recognize other recurring faces, like Zancrow and wezli333. (Yeah, sorry guys. Please forgive me.) I suppose years of looking at text on dozens of sites hasn't helped matters, as I often figure everything I read is from a different person unless I finally notice it. That said, if I start noticing people as being recurringly entertaining or otherwise pleasant, I'll take quite the shining to them. Lord knows that I can be loyal to a fault.

I don't know, really. I mean, I'm just a furry right? Does that really say anything about me other than the fact I'm a furry?

Holy fuck, you're a furry?

Wtf

GUYS, SHIT! GET US SOME OINTMENT! CAPTAIN BLUBBER JUST GOT FUCKING THIRD DEGREE-BURNED BY ERIN!

A lot of names that aren't capitalized leave a bad impression on me. Most of the exceptions are on this site.

anyways… my username and picture have no real conjunction. i'm just a guy who likes pinkie pie, so that's what i chose. my old one was of rainbow dash with sunglasses, but i found that one to be a bit overused. so i just searched up pinkie pie, and got his new one a couple weeks ago.

I don't think the username/avatar itself has much of an impact, but I've never changed mine specifically because I want to maintain a clear and consistent identity. (Example- you're probably not surprised that I posted the image above.) This stems from the fact that my brain almost always refuses to recognize a user after they change them to be the same person. I still think everyone should have the right to do it, but nevertheless I frequently get frustrated with the near-constant shuffling.

Alright, now that there'b some discussion I guess I'll talk about mine. As many know, I change my username and avatar all to often, and looking back on them, they all felt like different people when they were all just me. It's a weird feeling, but it was there. In fact, depending on my avatar or username at the time, it usually slightly influenced the way I acted. I was always me but some of them made me nicer and some made me tend to post harshly more often. In my eyes, not only do they influence the way I see others but the way I act by a teensy bit. Most of these things are entirely subconscious to me though so at the moment I'm internally judging someone through their avatar I never really notice it. It's also pretty minimal though since most of my thoughts on a user come from their posts as Blubber said.

So, can you guys think of any avatars that generally give you a certain impression towards a user? For example, what do you usually think about a user if they have a pony avatar, an anime avatar, a cat avatar, a picture with no discernible face, etc. What avatars usually make someone come off as more rude and which make a user seem more friendly?

If there's something about a username and/or avatar that makes me laugh, I'll be more likely to take those posts humorously if they invoke Poe's Law. On the other hand, if someone chooses something that could be intentionally inflammatory, such as a racially or religiously charged name, I tend to suspect they're just posting to be an attention whore. For the most part though, I know shitposting when I see it and it has nothing to do with the username or avatar.

Cats are fine. I'm meh about anime. Ponies are okay as long as it's not someone who does nothing but insult bronies. As for no face, it really depends on what they're using instead. Last but not least, pixel art of obscure Mario villains tend to kill threads.

I will say that I don't like most pony avatars but I will put up with them cause they're not so bad.

Except Erin the Furry's pony avatar looks like a smug prick and I hate looking at it.

I think the avatar does change peoples attitudes towards you to some small degree. Although it depends on who you are. Some people are more influenced than others.

But overall, your avatar does give people part of their impression of you. When I first started here, my avatar was just a typical windows BSOD. Back then nobody had any opinion of me at all. Some even thought I was a troll.

I turned that into a pony. Some people started warming up to me and began viewing me as a personality. Others dropped off. I garnered more respect from certain circles and less from others

I turned that into a cute pony. I started getting more warm hearted responses and friendly hello's.

I turned that into a sultry pony. I started getting more outrageous responses and I don't think I get taken quite as seriously as before, but also some…interesting…attention as well.

I cannot say with confidence if that was all because of the avatar, or because of changes in my posting style or habits. But I think it had a small part to do with it

Obviously the avatar doesn't have a significant impact. An angry and hostile avatar may not make people avoid you. But it could have subtle effects, like that same avatar might make people consider you less friendly and approach you with less cheeriness

A new user recently posted on my wall about my avatar. That kind of stuff is the only reaction I get off of my avatar.

I tend to confuse users with each other quite a lot.
First of all, avatars are way too small on this site. Half of the time I can't make them out.
Secondly, half the userbase has this tendency to change their avatar or even name all the time.
Every time I look at my friends I have to hover above their avatars to see who's who.

What's the point of that?

But yeah, I probably know more people from their avatars than their names. But I have that with every forum/site, since avatars are just more easy to memorize. That's only initially, though, Their posts speak for themselves quickly. Especially when someone makes a shitty first impression.

Oh, and fuck people with no avatar. Boy, does that piss me off.

I'm not one to change my username, but my profile picture tends to change every now and then.

At first it was a moomin (note my username), but then I changed to Hatsune Miku, and eventually to Miku with glasses, and stuck with that. I'm not really sure if people view me differently because of my avatar (since I've never asked anyone about it). But at least it's become somewhat iconic around here, even if I don't really post all that often.

I also hate it when people change their names and avatars to something completely different. I don't hang around enough to note every switch, and sometimes it feels like fellow users just disappear, even if they'd just change their name.

So, a big thank you for all those people who stick to their original names. You're the best.

Though there IS one stupid and irrelevant fact about people's avatars, which can annoy me to a certain end, and cause me to look at them a bit crooked. And that is people saving their avatar files as .JPG files, instead of .PNG.

For those few who don't know why it might bother me, it's just that .PNG files compress better to a small scale, and look better and more clear on the forums, whereas a .JPG goes all fuzzy and pixelated.

while i have a problem memorising "spoken" names, i recognise people on here mostly by their username, since i can memorise names i read much more easily than name i only hear (dunno why).
so changing avatars doesn't bother me. changing usernames on the other hand leads to confusion. there are some people, like kim jong […], that keep a part of their old name, thus at least giving a hint at who they are, changing names is still annoying though.

also, when someone has a matching set of character name and avatar, i mostly thing they'll RP and try to post "in character", which is more than likely to be annoying.
there are also names or avatars that you see and instantly know you won't be able to get along with that user.

other than that, i don't really pay that much attention to it, be it pony, furry or whatever avatar, doesn't say anything about their personality, just that they like something i might or might not like.

though, i feel like avatar pictures of "real" people kinda creep me out, not stuff like unflattering beyonce, more like on some anime and mango related boards people have pictures of some jap idols as avatars, especially the gifs creep me out, when they do all that weird shit, lick their lips, stare into my soul, or run through their hair, STOP IT.

my profile pic changes every now and then, right now it is jean pierre polnareff making a very adorable face.

When somebody uses a specific icon for a long time, they usually recognize them (for instance, RandomMan is associated with a bunny). Same case with the username: if it receives no changes, they will recognize it almost immediately. In both cases, if there are massive or constant changes, people might be confused, perhaps annoyed.

In my case, I've only used two avatars since I joined KYM. Both of them are Turok-related. I don't know if I will eventually change my current avatar, but it all seems to indicate that it's here to stay (AKA forever). My username has always been the same and I have no intentions to change it.

I do believe that avatars and usersnames give off a subtle impression. Because it's your online identity after all;The closest thing you can get to showing a face and name without giving your real face and name.

Usernames seem more useful for identifying someone, But the emotion that a avatar or a avatar/username combo is expressing can does give me a subtle vibe of who is posting, Like what the op said about randomman's recent change that is making him seem less intimidating, And among other things about the poster like what series or meme they enjoy or what their gender is.

I can tolerate someone just changing there avatar if they atleast keep the username, but making a complete username change can get my head spinning, which is likely why had kept my username and avatar combo the same since I joined.

I only change my avatar around once a month (which I've kept to be just different pokemon fanart of a dewott) and I've only changed my username from "Notsocoolguy" to "Notsocool the Dewott" to individualize myself from other "notsocool" guys on the internet using that username as well, with the fact that my avatar is a dewott.

Fandom avatars? There's no reason why I should judge someone to be good or bad because of the sole fact that they have a furry or pony or sonic or whatever fandom their avatar is. But when I see someone in the comments using a roblox avatar, I have a impression of that user similar to how I see the rest of the roblox community (Spoooiiler:My experience with roblox doesn't make my impression 100% positive.)

But since seeing them is just incidentally, I just ingore them. And I don't hold the smallest bit of a grudge for any other fandom, because for the most part;I'm simply not a critical person.

In conclusion, The little image that is place beside our username is just the "cover of our book"; While the cover can give an impression of what it contains and show a grain of truth, the cover itself is not the whole story. A person who has an "intimidating" looking avatar is not utterly limited to posting that auditude.

But just because we shouldn't judge a book by its cover doesn't mean we never do so.

i usually look at the username before the profile picture

there are tons of stupid images online that we see and use everyday that someone else made

you created your username all by yourself, and you decided to go with "xXxblazeitfgt420xXx"

I actually choose my avatars very specifically with the intention of it giving a first impression of myself. Back in early January I changed my icon from Solid-Snake-Twilight-Sparkle to this Glaceon icon, which has been my default ever since then specially because--while I'm still friendly and joke around--becoming concerned about the state of our image galleries back then and also now has made me more cynical.

Whenever I think of a user, and try to imagine them visually, all I have to go on is their icon, so that's what I think of. As such, if I don't know your personality enough, I can't help but see your post coming from your icon. A happy icon makes you appear happier and so on.

I'll admit I have went through a username and avatar change before. But I will always stick to Spider-byte now and have a Spider-Man related avatar.

I'm pretty sure I change my avatar way too much for it to make an impact. I usually just find a dumb avatar to replace the previous dumb avatar every week or so.

good for you, want a medal?

i'll say i chose a cute pinkie pie pic to clash with my somewhat cynical personality. Because irony..

I pick my avatar and name depending on my mood at the time. shrugs
I change my user name once in awhile, just to have a different feel, but half the time I go back to The Frosty Lich. As for my avatar, it's whatever I like or current mood I am.

Right now I have a gif of Grom Hellscream, he's a a bad ass and his Lords of War video kicked ass.
I'm Hot Blooded Warrior right now, because I want a change of personality, even if I can't achieve it irl.

But soon, I'll go back to my animu avatars and The Frosty Lich name.

i choose my avatar, usually based on what my general mood is.
Or what images make me feel better about myself, and remind me that i'm not worthless after all.
And motivate me, to go through my day. Even encourage me somewhat.
So that every time i log on, i see that image. and i feel better about myself.

I'm never changing my username. I really like it, and I've used it on other sites too, so ya.
As for the avatar, I change it once in a while, but it will always be comic book/superhero related.

When I see someone's username/avatar, I don't usually judge them based on that alone. I'll notice their commenting habits and go from there. I will say, I sometimes get annoyed at users without an avatar. It makes me feel like they have no personality (is that weird?).

There isn't really an avatar I dislike. They all mean something about the person. Except for people that have the default avatar, which is a minor pet peeve of mine.

One thing I used to find confusing and still sort of do is gender-confusion with the avatars and occasionally names. Bu now I just assume everyone on this site is a guy unless I find evidence to the contrary since women are pretty damn rare, but for quite a while people having avatars of a gender they don't belong to confused the fuck out of me. I've come to terms with it now, but for the longest time it was confusing. In fact, I never used a female avatar for quite a long time until recently just to avoid confusion. Guys usually use female avatars just because it's more visually pleasing to them or it's their waifu or whatever so I understand that now more. I partially started using female avatars because of this and also partially because I have an excuse since my gender is basically 90% female.

@Lil B

I hate that too for some reason. It's often just BNMs who eventually get an avatar, but it confuses me when some veterans purposely leave their avatar default. Something about that just screams "asshole" for some reason. I know I shouldn't judge by that and I often try not to but I can't help it occasionally.

@People who hate name changing

Sorry guys, I'll try to stop from now on. I already have been, but I have such a short attention span with these things. Like Frosty, I often just change along with my tastes at the time. This username is cool because it's so malleable and dynamic, so I think I'll try to keep it. I didn't know changing so often pissed people off. I'll keep it to a minimum.

I like when people use pony avatars, because then I know automatically to ignore everything they say.

:^)

i make user avatars

My old username was theclassicrock1969. I originally made it that because it's my name on Cheezburger and I thought that these sites were more related. I eventually changed it because I felt it gave of this vibe.

The only avatars I care about are the ones I can fap to.

i do not think much about avatars and user names , but i can say looking at one you cant always figure out much about a specific person . you can at the least learn some basic facts about them like the fandom they belong to and such , and figure out their personality in some way . generally avatars and user names dont tell much , a post or a comment can tell much more about a specific person .

I really like avatars, and usernames are pretty important too. An avatar creates a first impression, for instance, on another forum I go on, the owner of the site has a bright, almost child-like avatar, whereas a minor moderator has a dark red, very aggressive avatar. Even though logically, the owner of the site should be terrifying, the one I'm scared of is that random, small-time mod who doesn't post that often, and the owner is really approachable. In that sense, a good avatar can change how noticable and approachable you are, at least to a small degree.

I like to keep my username consistent. Even though I'm pretty sure it sounds really pretentious, I'm still satisfied for now, and probably won't change it for a long time. I tend to lose people when their username changes, and little jokes that I was planning to make end up getting interrupted by inconvenient changes.

Avatars, on the other hand, I love. I keep mine consistent years at a time, mostly because I'm pretty satisfied with it for a while, and because I'm too lazy to draw a new one. On that subject, I like anyone who makes their own avatar. It puts a nice personal touch on them, and gives me an idea of how good they are at drawing or whatever. The only avatars I don't really like are pony avatars, ones of the Mane 6, more specifically. It's not really because I don't like the show, it's more of how there are just so many of them that I cant distinguish you from the other twenty I saw today. Other ponies, like Blue Screen of Death, is fine, since I can actually remember that.

I usually take a new pic of myself as the seasons and holidays come and go, but there's always something interesting that catches my eye. My username stays the same – I kinda like the weird vibe it gives off.

Maybe it's 'cause of my imagination, but I sorta think that users' avatars really are like themselves in real life. For example, seeing Random21's avatar gives me the impression that he really is a handsome bishounen. I have no follow-up to what I just said.

I just decided to go under the alias "Eris" because why not? I even have a profile pic of a web comic adaptation of the Greek Goddess of Chaos, Eris! But I do change them on certain occasions (e.g. Right now).

I like to think that my username gives me a free pass to fail endlessly and my avatar to infinitely kid & troll around

I like true patrician music and I browse /vp/. As for profile pictures, I usually just use whatever I think looks good or gets a laugh out of me, though they usually consist of /mu/ memes, Pokemon or anime. I also got back into football (soccer), so I might start using footballers as my profile picture. My username has changed a lot, with my first username not even bring closely related to my current name. It started off as Lars Ulri¢h, Your Local /tr/ainer, Your Local /mu/tant, to the second again and some I can't even remember. I like my current username now and I think I won't change it for a long time.

So am I like a banana in real life? How would that even work?

I guess that makes you the almighty banana monster

My avatar says ow the edge, but my username says fapping

@JACKIXI455

Maybe it’s ‘cause of my imagination, but I sorta think that users’ avatars really are like themselves in real life. For example, seeing Random21’s avatar gives me the impression that he really is a handsome bishounen. I have no follow-up to what I just said.

I do this same thing. If your avatar has a character in it, then I tend to playfully imagine that the visible character (or characters, if there are multiple) is/are the one(s) speaking the text in your post. I guess I do that just to make forums more interesting

@Honeytiger

So am I like a banana in real life? How would that even work?

You are a talking banana

But if you have no entity in your avatar that can be characterized in any way whatsoever, such as scenery or logos, then I just don't apply any imagination at all and I'll read your post the plain boring way, as my own thoughts

@Eris

I just decided to go under the alias “Eris” because why not?

Greek God? Oh. You had me thinking of a very distant planet in our solar system