Avatar Gallery

[Hankster]

With this board not using a default avatar gallery, have there been thoughts of having an avatar board? It's taboo to use someone else's avatar without expressed permission, so how about a board with a list of usable avatars free to members. New, seasonal, and event type avatars could be added when available. Members could also use the board to request an avatar and those who wish to oblige could reply with their designs. With the number of graphic designers here there could be an unofficial "Design Team" dedicated to the avatar/image needs of MacRumors and its members.

I'm a moderator and graphics designer on the IGN forums (I apologize for using another forum as an example) and there we have a Graphic Design Manager who manages the image needs for one portion of the network. She manages five designers (volunteers) on one board where requests come in for avatars, animated gifs, and images to used on those boards.

With the high interest in the recent avatar contest, the allure of having an unique avatar, and the highly talented designers here I thought this may be a great idea. It could be a great addition to the "community".

I could go into more detail if requested. Thanks for listening 😉

 

[Doctor Q]

Just brainstorming here...

An avatar gallery could be a nice site feature. But could it instead be handled with a featured forum thread and/or a Mac Guide page?

If we used a thread, I can imagine the types of guidelines we might use:

• If you are looking for an avatar and see one you like in the thread, you are welcome to use it.
• If you are looking for an avatar and don't see one you like, post to make a specific request for what you want.
• If you have an avatar to offer anyone who wants it, especially one you created yourself, post in the thread and attach the avatar to your post.
• Do not post an avatar that someone else is already using.
• Do not post an avatar that someone else created if they might not want you to post it or others to use it.
• Any avatar posted in the thread is available to anyone who wants to use it. By posting it, you give permission for this.
• It's normally considered improper etiquette to use an avatar that someone else is already using. However, if you use an avatar posted in this thread, others may use it too. You do not "own" your avatar if you found it in this thread.

It could also be two threads, one for avatar posts and one for requests.

The advantage I see in using a thread or two is that it can be created and organized by any interested forum members. The same is true for a Mac Guide page, but fewer members know how to use the Wiki. Perhaps the thread could be as described above but volunteers could maintain a Guide page showing the avatars posted to date, and that would be the gallery.

There would be different advantages to having a real avatar gallery as a site feature, of course. It would be great if it was integrated with the avatar page in User CP. If it had a huge number of entries, tagging and sorting could provide ways to organize and present it. All of this would take coding and/or vBulletin plug-ins, so it would take more effort to implement.

 

[Hankster]

Good Thoughts

Those are excellent bullet points. I believe one Avatar Request Thread and an Avatar Gallery Guide page would fit the need with minimum maintenance.

Avatar Gallery Guide (Mac Guide Page)

• Paragraph of rules regarding avatar use, permissions, etc.
• List of all avatars organized by name, theme, etc. (with credit to designer)
• Maintained by one or two members to minimize overlap and confusion.

Avatar Request Thread (sticky thread somewhere)

• Link directly to Avatar Gallery Guide.
• Paragraph of guidelines for requesting an avatar.
• As requests are filled the posts would be removed to clear the thread of clutter.
• All finished avatars would be moved to the Avatar Gallery Guide.
• Members can post while Admin/Moderators would remove posts after requests are completed.

I could start the Guide and begin listing the avatars that are "free for use".

 

[Doctor Q]

I don't think it would be necessary to clear out the clutter. Most people would read the first post for instructions and add their own posts if they don't find what they want in the gallery. They wouldn't have to read through the whole thread since there's no harm in having multiple people request the same thing. But if someone wanted to read through previous requests or search the thread, there'd be no harm in that either.

The gallery would have copies of the submitted avatars, but they could remain in the thread too, for those who find them that way.

Example:

Post #123, by Biff:

We need more avatars with lemurs in them.​

Post #124, by Sully:

This one took me 7 months to create. Do you like it?

​

Post #125, by Biff:

Yes, it's an absolute masterpiece. I'll use it and so can anyone else who finds it in the gallery.​

Added to gallery by our volunteers:

Submitted by Sully​

 

[Hankster]

I created an Avatar Gallery guide page with some of the avatars I created. If anyone else wants to upload their please do. There's an open area to paste in the link to an "avatar request thread". At the moment I organized the avatars based on MacRumor theme and Apple theme. I'll be adding more as they arise.

Please review the page and if it fits what you were thinking about please add any necessary verbiage. Thanks!

http://guides.macrumors.com/Avatar_Gallery

 

[techlover828]

I created an Avatar Gallery guide page with some of the avatars I created. If anyone else wants to upload their please do. There's an open area to paste in the link to an "avatar request thread". At the moment I organized the avatars based on MacRumor theme and Apple theme. I'll be adding more as they arise.

Please review the page and if it fits what you were thinking about please add any necessary verbiage. Thanks!

http://guides.macrumors.com/Avatar_Gallery

nice work with the guide, seems like a great idea!

 

[srl7741]

I agree, very nice work. I love the apple classic mix.

 

[CalBoy]

I think this is a wonderful idea. It will allow people to share and experiment with avatars while at the same time giving other the chance to use some very creative ideas.

With that said, I feel we should do the following things to make the process work:

1. Create separate threads as Doctor Q has pointed out. However, I believe we should also have directories that are maintained by forum members that can serve as the "MR History of Avatars" in a manner of speaking. I think that thematic avatars are going to come up know and then (holidays, special events, etc) and that appropriate threads should be created/spun off in such cases so that the directory maintainers will be able to mark it as such and so that members can search by topic/theme via the forum search feature.
   
2. I think the fact that discussions about avatars, how to create them, and so on will naturally lead to new threads and lines of discussion that might provide yet another positive feature for forum members. As such, I think it wouldn't be entirely bad to create a new sub-forum for avatars. Within the "Mac Community" forum, we could have an "Avatars, Discussion, and Help" sub-forum much like the one that is used for the Picture Gallary or Current Events.
   
3. Rules need to be clearly posted and members need to understand that they will be strictly enforced.
   
4. Posts in the "Request an Avatar" thread cannot count towards one's post count. Otherwise, a single request could turn into a 40-post discussion about some tangential aspect that isn't important for the sake of requesting an avatar. Naturally the moderators will do a great job as always, but the core fact that the thread's only purpose is to allow those in need to come into contact with those who have, means that posts shouldn't count. In much the same way that posts in the Marketplace don't count.
   
5. I think that of the couple volunteers who help maintain the directories (I envision that as many as 3 may be needed in order to maintain the various avatars that are put up voluntarily, those that are part of the annals, and those that are thematic), at least one should be a moderator (as if they don't have enough to do 😱) because they will be able to filter through inappropriate avatars and make sure that the forum rules are being followed.

I think it's a great idea Hankster. 🙂

And of course if MR's mods and gods feel I would make an appropriate volunteer, I'm more than happy to help out. 🙂

 

[CalBoy]

So I'm a tad curious to know: has any progress been made on this idea?

Or has it fallen by the wayside?

 

[MacNut]

Do we only want one person to use an avatar at a time. If a lot of people see a tar they like there should be a "tar in use icon".

 

[Hankster]

I wasn't sure if this idea was moving forward or not. I know if it were to move forward there are several areas where the content regarding avatars would need to be changed. I was going to add a few St. Patrick Day avatars but didn't since I wasn't sure if the idea was moving anywhere.

In regards to more than one user having the same avatar, I think it's fine since we'd be dealing with "community avatars". Many boards have users with the same general avatar. If they're "free for use" they should be "free for all".

 

[CalBoy]

I really hope it is being looked into, because I think the idea is a great one.

And like I said before, I'm more than willing to help out with its maintenance. 🙂

As for whether or not avatars can be made available for everyone, it should be left up to the individual creator right? Some people might only want to share with one or two others, while others might not mind having dozens use it. It wouldn't be that hard to keep sorted if they are kept in separate threads.

 

[gonwk]

Question on Avatar

Hi folks,🙂

A Dumb Question ... where in the heck under "CP" panel is the place to Add my Avatar?

Most Forums ... right under CP panelthere is a place to add your Avatar!

Am I missing something ... and this wouldn't be the 1st time!!!😀

Thanks,

G!🙂

PS - I just found out I have to 500 POSTS ... sorrrry! Well look at the positive side ... this adds 1 more post to my count.
@ xUKHCx ... THANKS!

 

[xUKHCx]

pssst check the FAQ in particular

Avatars are small images that display alongside a user's name. This is a feature that is reserved for established users on the MacRumors Forums. We require a 500 post minimum (user title 6502 or higher) before you are given the opportunity to upload your own custom avatar. Alternatively, a select few are given avatar privileges before this milestone if they win a forum contest.

Once you reach 500 posts, you may not immediately be able to upload an avatar. The privilege is added automatically when the forum system does routine processing, so check again in a few hours. The delay is normal, so please do not contact us to report it as a problem on the same day that you reach 500 posts.