Avatar

[Leader Bee]

it originally came about when playing a space based MMORPG had an influence on it.

 

EVE Online by any chance?

[insane_alien]

no. quite a while before that

[Sisyphus]

"Hello, I am Mike, how are you? Fine, thank you."

 

That has been lost on the web, generally speaking.

I made the errouneous thought that maybe this Forum could engage on a more civilized path on the Internet.

 

See, that's the thing. I don't think using birth names and photographs of our real faces is more civilized. I think it's more civilized to start with a blank slate.

 

Another example: Sisyphus's avatar is the interpretation is maybe a "intemischievous looking cartoon robot devil" but not only: the gesture of the figure with the hands, the look, the prominent teeths, the colour, the background, everything counts. For me, Sysiphus is a professor, and we are the classroom: terrifying for engaging conversation.

 

Not my intention. I've probably had half a dozen avatars in my time on this forum, and I don't use the same name or avatar anywhere else. It generally doesn't even occur to me that someone would give it as much significance as you have. Maybe I'm just more used to it? I've used screen names to communicate on the internet with people I know and people I don't know since high school, and it seems perfectly natural to me, so maybe it's just "cultural."

[ewmon]

I used to be more open and outgoing … and naïve. I wish I could go back. I sympathize with you. For reasons that are still unknown, someone caused me a career setback by spending months deviously obtaining personal information on me, and then sharing it with my other coworkers. At least you were 4 years old when you cried, and it didn't cost you your job. So now I practice anonymity on the web as a necessary evil. ... or I become a hermit.

 

To answer the questions…

In real life, do I wear a mask — Yes

If I see someone hiding, I think — They have a reason

My name and avatar — Are meant to deceive/deflect

My avatar represents — Science, also symbolic for me

This forum is not a game — Forums are real; but real life is more real

[michel123456]

I wonder what you would think of mine? I'll then explain why I have it...

 

 

The Sun "le Roi Soleil" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV_of_France

 

Absolute power, the center of the (at the epoch) known universe, provider of life & abundance, also the fire burning the one who wants to approach too close (falling like Icarus).

 

Klaynos, the significance is unknown to me, but that is not so important.

In greek language, klano means "I fart", so klaynos could mean "the farter" but I know not such a word, maybe "klaynias"?

---

Merged post follows:

Consecutive posts merged

The Tree, your avatar is exactly my dream.

And your name is exactly what my daughter wrote once in a schoolwork, about her father: a tree with the voice of the leaves dancing in a gentle brise. How romantic.

Confirmed by your propensity to defend the others.

Edited April 20, 2010 by michel123456
Consecutive posts merged.

[Klaynos]

The avatar, well it's quite simple something I signed up for many years ago required an image, I had been bored and playing with lens flares in some image program (probably serif) the day before so I opened it up and did a quick one saved it uploaded it and then as I've signed up for forums I've just kept with it.

 

Klaynos, is another rush job. I needed a nickname for an online game, I had 15 mins during a school morning break to come up with something. I then changed game, with some school friends so we would all still know who the others were we kept the names, I became a big part of that community and through a long long chain of events (involving dave to a greater and lesser extent depending on the time) I signed up here, to keep continuity between the chat and the forums I used the same name...

[the tree]

Completely misinterpreted though, that photo is several years old and I don't look like that at all any more. And 'the tree' was chosen at random by someone else so they could discuss me while I was in the room, very long ago.

[michel123456]

Completely misinterpreted though, that photo is several years old and I don't look like that at all any more. And 'the tree' was chosen at random by someone else so they could discuss me while I was in the room, very long ago.

 

Romantism collapsed.

 

I am overanalyzing, it seems.

 

But all this come to me in a glance. Cultural influence I suppose.

Edited April 20, 2010 by michel123456

[Moontanman]

I used to have an avatar that had a message in it or with it about me (it was a bit of a brag really) but no one ever got it so i changed it to this one. i have an avatar that is a pic of me i used on some forums where I know many of the people personally in real life but even they often call me Moon. BTW, I think it's very much related to the old "CB handle" that was popular when i was in my late teens to early twenties. Everyone had a "handle" that in some way described them or was a in some way significant to it's owner. BTW, my current avatar reveals quite a bit about me to anyone who is on the same wave length as me, lol

 

BTW Michel, I think far too much is assumed when you see someone face or appearance. When you talk to someone in a coffee shop or where ever in real life you make automatic assumptions about nearly everything about them, using a avatar prevents people from making those automatic assumptions allows you get to know the real person not the cover.

Edited April 20, 2010 by Moontanman

[A Tripolation]

When you talk to someone in a coffee shop or where ever in real life you make automatic assumptions about nearly everything about them, using a avatar prevents people from making those automatic assumptions allows you get to know the real person not the cover.

 

This is very true. Well put, Moontanman. I think Avatars are fine the way they are used on this forum. Although Sisyphus' avatar has always creeped my out a great deal...

[Sisyphus]

Although Sisyphus' avatar has always creeped my out a great deal...

 

Just be glad you haven't seen my face.

[Moontanman]

Sisyphus, your avatar is from Futurama?

[michel123456]

BTW Michel, I think far too much is assumed when you see someone face or appearance. When you talk to someone in a coffee shop or where ever in real life you make automatic assumptions about nearly everything about them, using a avatar prevents people from making those automatic assumptions allows you get to know the real person not the cover.

 

Interesting. You consider it like an advantage, I consider it as an obstacle.

[Sisyphus]

Sisyphus, your avatar is from Futurama?

 

Yup.

[Phi for All]

Interesting. You consider it like an advantage, I consider it as an obstacle.

An obstacle to what? You're already reading what a person has expressed, so why is it necessary to see what they really look like?

 

To my mind, it can only add unnecessary judgment. I know you see it as more personable, like the difference between talking to someone on the phone and seeing them in person, but on many internet forums, especially scientific ones, we try very hard to distance the idea from the person who has the idea just so there is no extraneous judgment involved. One of the worst crimes you can commit here is to attack someone personally rather than their idea.

 

Can you honestly say you would listen to an idea from this person

 

in exactly the same way as this person

 

if you knew nothing else about them, no matter what idea was being expressed? Truly?

[michel123456]

An obstacle to what? You're already reading what a person has expressed, so why is it necessary to see what they really look like?

 

To my mind, it can only add unnecessary judgment. I know you see it as more personable, like the difference between talking to someone on the phone and seeing them in person, but on many internet forums, especially scientific ones, we try very hard to distance the idea from the person who has the idea just so there is no extraneous judgment involved. One of the worst crimes you can commit here is to attack someone personally rather than their idea.

 

(...)

if you knew nothing else about them, no matter what idea was being expressed? Truly?

 

I understand your point. But you must recognize that the elimination of "extraneous judgment" is wishfull thinking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishful_thinking)

 

In practice

_You must learn to know someone first before you can hear what he says.

_words from people like Barack, Albert, Isaac, are recognized because the one who said it is important, not because of the wording.

_words from people like Benitto or Adolf are dismissed for the same reason.

 

The "who is talking" is very important.

My point was simply that IMO the avatar is an obstacle to know Who is talking. It make me feel like belonging to a secret society where the members are outlaws, fearing something.

Maybe we have to fear something, actually, as Phee said, and others. Maybe I am naive.

Hm, I am .

[Sisyphus]

What do you gain by knowing someone's face? You say "to know them," but what you "know" about a person just by looking at them is just prejudice, exactly what we want to avoid.

[michel123456]

What do you gain by knowing someone's face? You say "to know them," but what you "know" about a person just by looking at them is just prejudice, exactly what we want to avoid.

 

I already exposed my prejudice based (wrongly) on your avatar.

 

i scrolled around another thread here http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9208

 

Quite educating.

 

the most interesting being post #14 from YT2095 (Chemistry Expert) February 22nd, 2005, 3:16 PM #14

 

Chemistry ExpertMine is me, and Why is because I type things on here like Me, I represent Me, I`ve nothing to hide by Showing me.

 

And shows no avatar at all....

----------

editing. Prejudice or prejudgment?

[Sisyphus]

So your point is that you want to be prejudiced based on somebody's real life appearance, rather than an image they choose to represent them?

[Phi for All]

I understand your point. But you must recognize that the elimination of "extraneous judgment" is wishfull thinking

Eliminating anything completely would be difficult, so we do what we can to eliminate extraneous judgment. Avatars and Usernames are a very simple way of reducing the chances we might be judged unfairly by the way we look or who we are in real life.

 

In practice

_You must learn to know someone first before you can hear what he says.

_words from people like Barack, Albert, Isaac, are recognized because the one who said it is important, not because of the wording.

_words from people like Benitto or Adolf are dismissed for the same reason.

 

Suppose this phrase is spoken, by this avatar:

"The doom of a nation can be averted only by a storm of flowing passion, but only those who are passionate themselves can arouse passion in others."

 

 

 

Great words, and very inspiring. But change the avatar to the man who actually said them, and your judgment of the words changes:

 

"The doom of a nation can be averted only by a storm of flowing passion, but only those who are passionate themselves can arouse passion in others." --Adolph Hitler

 

The words are still inspiring. It's those words that you should be concentrating on, not the person who said them. Hitler may have been a monster, but he said some very inspiring things. The fact that he was who he was doesn't make them less poignant. This is why, in science, we try to reduce the extraneous judgment where we can.

 

The "who is talking" is very important.

My point was simply that IMO the avatar is an obstacle to know Who is talking. It make me feel like belonging to a secret society where the members are outlaws, fearing something.

 

In science, things are different. The processes used work well, and we try to emulate and use them whenever possible.

 

Maybe we have to fear something, actually, as Phee said, and others. Maybe I am naive.

Hm, I am .

If you can't see a reason why your real life and your internet life can't be joined, then you're not being naive. Some people have real concerns and we should respect that.

[michel123456]

Fair.

 

---------------

 

O.K. some people here do feel necessary to use an avatar that is not themselves, but something else. I understand those people do have something to hide, and I can only respect that.

 

O.K. some people believe that's a good way to improve rational judgment about discussions & ideas.

 

But I still believe that the majority of users do use an avatar only because they are used to do so playing some games on their Nitendo. There is nothing serious in it, its just fun.

And when you ask them to reveal their face, its not fun anymore, its annoying. Too serious, not cool.

Who is that guy who wants to go to carnaval without a mask?

Edited April 21, 2010 by michel123456

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I wonder how different online communities might be if people chose usernames that sounded like ordinary names (not necessarily their own name, but definitely name-ish). That is, you could refer to people mentally as a real person with a real name, rather than thinking of them as "the dude with that weird avatar."

[A Tripolation]

Hmm...I more think that people remember the user names and not the Avatar. Or is that just me? Like I NEVER remembered Cap'n Refsmmat or the Domino thingy avatar. I remembered Cap'n Crunch. Because it's the same sounding...and the letters are red and the cereal box is red... Anywho.

[forufes]

i'm going to take over the world someday, and having my pic here would link a treasure trove of info on me to others, and info is power, which i'm not so keen on leaving laying around for my enemies.

[michel123456]

I like this one

Hi Vladimir

 

And this one

 

Hi Trip (the name has absolutely no importance)

 

And for those who don't like to show their face, I liked this refreshing one

 

Hi Severian.

Edited April 25, 2010 by michel123456