What do you think about misleading avatars?

[giveusallfreedom]

Personally, I really don't care what you have as an avatar. Mine's a freaking atomic bomb blast for crying out loud. Who am I to judge?

That being said, I saw one avatar for one member that I believe misrepresented that individual and looked more like just a way to get attention. Here's a hypothetical situation. Say someone has an avatar of them in a brand new Ferrari and in reality they are no where near being able to afford a Ferrari.

We're in a marketing forum and we sell products to each other. So...

Is it false advertising?
Is it unethical?
Should they change their avatar?

For the record the situation is purely hypothetical. The avatar in question has nothing to do with car. My point is only this...if you're avatar has nothing to do with you or your product and purely exists to entice people that would otherwise ignore you, should you take it down?

What's your thoughts?

[Scott Ames]

I don't care one way or the other really.

[Phil Jacobson]

I think it's probably best to have your photo there. I seem to remember people better and feel I can trust them if it's their real photo.

[Corwinnx]

Mine is my pic, BUT, visualization does work, so if the 'ferarri' in question is the members 'dream' maybe it's just his or her way of reminding his or herself of that dream every time he or she posts.

-Marcus

[Alan Petersen]

Atomic bomb or scantly dressed woman in a bikini--both unprofessional so same-same. :-) In a marketing forum it should be your picture or at least your business logo or business brand. But to each their own.

[Tim Franklin]

I think I know what you are saying and I agree...

You see if on Ebay sometimes, they will be selling something and will have a picture of a lovely girl in a skimpy bikini, it does catch the eye, however in a forum its a turn off and perhaps on ebay as well,

More so when the person is likely to not be a woman in the first place.

So yes, I agree, using pictures of a woman when your a man is really not a good thing.

[Jelasco]

I think it's getting ridiculous what little things people are complaining about.

[kittyluver]

An avatar is a computer user's representation of himself or herself. (Source:Wikipedia). Avatar or Avatara (Sanskrit: अवतार, IAST Avatāra) in Hindu philosophy is the 'descent' or incarnation of a divine being (deva) or the supreme being (God) onto planet Earth.

So You can consider your avatar as a best one SHOULD be your picture not even your GF pic...(lol)

[Diana Lane]

I think it looks a bit pathetic on eBay when the gallery photo is that of a woman's thong-clad butt in the air, especially when it has nothing to do with the product. Yet I've seen all kinds of things advertised in this way on there, particularly web hosting. The relevance escapes me.

On here though, a photo of someone in a Ferrari might be someone's way of giving themselves something to aim for. I'm more likely to judge someone by the quality and content of their posts than I am by an avatar, but I'll admit that I'm shallow enough to wonder, if only fleetingly, whether a poster has a face like an open grave if they're using a picture of something else instead

[Chris8]

In my opinion, You can use whatever avatar you want to. I seriously believe that people are not that gullible to picturize a member based on their avatars. The life style photos posted by some of the so called super affiliates, on their blogs, is a completely different thing though. I have seen many people fall for them.

[YeopMayuru]

I believe that a person should present his/herself properly in any line of communication.

Promotes better good will between the two parties. Don't it?

[sparrow]

Marcus you beat me to this, must be thinking on parallel lines

the dream, whether its theres or yours

success all starts with a dream

I don't who said but it was something like this if you can dream you can attain it

besides who cares what people put up for avatars

Ed

Originally Posted by Corwinnx

Mine is my pic, BUT, visualization does work, so if the 'ferarri' in question is the members 'dream' maybe it's just his or her way of reminding his or herself of that dream every time he or she posts.

-Marcus

[JohnMcCabe]

Maybe it's my multiple trips around the block, but when I see a guy posing in front of a fancy car, all I see is a guy standing in front of a fancy car. Same for posing in front of a fancy house.

There's an outfit up the road a way that rents fancy cars to tourists who want to take in the sunshine is a sporty convertible. Anything from your garden variety Porsche or Ferrari to a vintage '65 Mustang. My wife and I walk onto the lot with a camera, and 30 seconds later I have a picture of myself posing with 'my' convertible.

After a few minutes' drive, we come to one of the barrier islands along the Gulf. We pull off to the side of the road, set our camera on the 'For Sale' sign and a few seconds later we have a picture of ourselves in front of 'our' multi-million dollar beach house.

An avatar is just a picture, no big deal...

I recall a cartoon in a magazine showing a canine typing on a computer, filling out a member profile. The caption: "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog."

[Frank Bruno]

Hey overweight men can have skinny blonde GF's in bikinis too...

Frank Bruno

[YiKeS]

G`day,

well I`m not sure if I`ll put my pic up ... I have my favicon as my
avatar on about all forums I`m a member and always end my post
with my name (which I notice now not many do) ... don`t think I
have a pic of me with a shirt on ... who`d wanna see my hairy
stringbean chest!??

Branding is powerful ... so is visualisation but surely if one used the
visualization as a reason to put a cheesy expensive flash car up they
could better serve that purpose by printing the photo to a large size
and taping it above the monitor.

The "pretty woman when your a man" thing .... purely to attract
attention ... guess it`s similar to having your name in big fat capital
letters ... turn more people off than anything ... lol ... no stats on
that tho.

Christopher J.

[Jean Morgan]

I have seen two that I really don't like at all, apart from that everyone is being quite sensible compared to what I have seen on forums elsewhere. I expect to see the envelope being pushed further and further over time.

The fact that I don't like them is my personal opinion and no-one else's. If Allen decides he doesn't like someones avatar or maybe he gets a lot of complaints about some avatars then I expect he will do something about it. Until then... well not a lot can be done other than to alert him that some people are concerned which is what this thread is doing.

Jean

[Shannon Herod]

Well, if you are building a brand you should use this medium to build your brand. My brand in this niche is my face and domain Focused2Win.com, and you can see both with my avatar.

Many people do not have a plan and try to look cool and not professional with their avatar. (in my opinion)

With this new feature I do judge a book by its cover. If I am trying to make a decision on a business deal I now take into account how they choose to display themselves here (if they are members) and on there websites.

Shannon

[KarlWarren]

The only person "misled" by an avatar is the person who allows themselves to be.

There is no hard and fast rule that says 'you must use your own photo'
do you think Allen really is a monkey?

There are some questionable avatars, one in particular (semi-clad woman) is
pushing it a bit.

I wouldn't pay much mind to someone's avatar in a business sense, unless it
was offensive - in which case I'd choose not to do business with that person.

[xmx]

I wear a Ferrari F1 cap in my avatar pic.

I am a big fan of Ferrari F1, but I still don't own a ferrari car,
and even if I had the money to buy it I think I wouldn't.

About misleading avatars, I think I wouldn't be influenced so
much by pics of forum users, I would investigate a little more
about the person.


cheers,

Gian

[Steven Fullman]

Originally Posted by KarlWarren

The only person "misled" by an avatar is the person who allows themselves to be.

There is no hard and fast rule that says 'you must use your own photo'
do you think Allen really is a monkey?

There are some questionable avatars, one in particular (semi-clad woman) is
pushing it a bit.

I wouldn't pay much mind to someone's avatar in a business sense, unless it
was offensive - in which case I'd choose not to do business with that person.

^^ What paranoid stalkerphobic boy just said ^^

I think it's great to see most of you, is all.

Steve

[mmurtha]

Originally Posted by Corwinnx

Mine is my pic, BUT, visualization does work, so if the 'ferarri' in question is the members 'dream' maybe it's just his or her way of reminding his or herself of that dream every time he or she posts.

-Marcus

I agree with Marcus here. You never know why someone uses a specific avatar.

To be honest about it, I don't think that is false advertising, unethical, or that that person or any other should have to change it to suit other members.

I caught myself this morning noticing that someone had what I thought was too provocative (sexy) of an avatar, but then thought about different ways people express themselves, and that it's not my place to sensor another.

Think about it, next thing you know people will be quibbling over nothing, or as Allen mentioned in one of his posts regarding infractions - "Someone gave an infraction to someone else because they thought that individual had an incorrect avatar" or something similar.


Mary

[ShayRockhold]

I look at it this way:

I have my pic as my avatar (for better or worse, it's how I look! ).

If someone on this forum has an avatar that is offensive or simply puts people off, that is one person I have an advantage over, so to speak, because someone might do business with me, rather than that person.

So it doesn't bother me in the least.

[Fran_C]

Interesting discussion... I have noticed a lot of interesting Avatars in different forums
but I mostly enjoy seeing the poster's photo and that reminded me to go post my photo
for this WF forum...

Fran

[Christie Love]

Personally, I like pictures. I think misleading avators remove the personal touch that people need when communicating with each other. The internet is so impersonable already.

When someone sends me friend request and they have an avator, I feel leary. I like looking into a person's eyes to see their sincerity. I truely do believe that the eyes are the window to the soul. Feel free to look into mine. You'll see a lot is going on in there.

[Steven Fullman]

Originally Posted by Christie Love

I like looking into a person's eyes to see their sincerity. I truely do believe that the eyes are the window to the soul..

I couldn't agree more...

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by giveusallfreedom

Say someone has an avatar of them in a brand new Ferrari and in reality they are no where near being able to afford a Ferrari.

It could be an expression of a goal or a dream rather than a reflection of their current reality.

[giveusallfreedom]

Steve. You promised you would never put my pic on the forum dude. WTF? I only got that drunk that one time and things got a little out of control. That chicks make up bag blew up on my face and... oh nevermind.

[JayXtreme]

Is it a misleading avatar though?...

To guess someone's intentions from a picture posted is a bit far stretched to say the least..

We have absolutely no way on earth of knowing the reason WHY someone would post a specific picture...unless they say so..

Jay

[Bruce Wedding]

Cool idea. I think I'll take a picture of me in my Ferrari and use it

[John Rowe]

Originally Posted by giveusallfreedom

I saw one avatar for one member that I believe misrepresented that individual and looked more like just a way to get attention.

I know what you mean. Allen's new avatar really pissed me off too.

.

[Tirmizi]

well its nice to see people with faces on avtars and they are more likely to get the vote of confidence then those guys with farari so its not misleading, its costing them portion of business

[John Rowe]

Originally Posted by giveusallfreedom

My point is only this...if you're avatar has nothing to do with you or your product and purely exists to entice people that would otherwise ignore you, should you take it down?

LOL... just noticed your forum username.

.

[JayXtreme]

Originally Posted by John Rowe

LOL... just noticed your forum username.

.

LOL.... now that's ironic...

Jay

[ExRat]

Hi,

Personally I'm more likely to have a little more trust for someone who appears to 'show themselves.'

For example, mo-fo does all night vid-casts of himself getting lathered and doing various other things in shorter videos. He puts himself out there and he claims that this increases his sales. I believe him.

Neither way is right or wrong, but I think it makes a difference - and I reckon you can tell that by the posts that people make.

[Kay King]

It is interesting to me that four people made posts about what an avatar "should" be.

By all means, have the avatar on your profile that is as you think it "should" be - and allow others to determine their own "shoulds".

kay

[giveusallfreedom]

LMAO, seriously the only reason I posted this was because I was tired and got aggravated that I went to the profile based on the avatar even though I should known better. I sincerely thought this post would die a slow painful death like it's topic deserved. In fact I immediately fell asleep after posting it and after waking back up and remembering what I did I personally went out and beat my own @$$ for posting it.

Please...Please...Please just let the post die. Of all the posts I've made, this is the one that won't die. Now I just feel like an idiot.

[Emailrevealer]

I don't think I've ever had an avatar and I never really notice them unless it's a pretty girl.

[Vince Runza Online]

Your avatar should be consistent with your persona. In my case, yes, I *am* a bad boy, even at my age!

[Elmer Hurlstone]

WYSIWYG.

Yep, that's me.

I may start using either Riley's or Sutton's pic instead. They are both under the mistaken impression they're better looking than me.

Then, again, I could always use either George Clooney's or Richard Gere's photo.

Elmer

[ExRat]

Hi longname,

Please...Please...Please just let the post die. Of all the posts I've made, this is the one that won't die.

Yes, I agree

[Elmer Hurlstone]

Originally Posted by ExRat

Hi longname,


Yes, I agree

Roger, I concur.

Elmer

[Keith Boisvert]

Originally Posted by Elmer Hurlstone

Roger, I concur.

Elmer

Me too


Keith

[admin]

Originally Posted by Tim Franklin

I think I know what you are saying and I agree...

You see if on Ebay sometimes, they will be selling something and will have a picture of a lovely girl in a skimpy bikini, it does catch the eye, however in a forum its a turn off and perhaps on ebay as well,

More so when the person is likely to not be a woman in the first place.

So yes, I agree, using pictures of a woman when your a man is really not a good thing.

Tim,

When my lady put's her bikini on I'll be sure to send you a note. :-)

[Josh Anderson]

I am sure you are not really a:



And I am sure Allen is not really a cigar rolling Cuban grandma:



Soooo misleading!

[admin]

When it comes to avatars I have a habit of changing mine almost weekly. I'm hope that doesn't piss anyone off because I don't intend to stop :-)

[giveusallfreedom]

Originally Posted by Josh Anderson

I am sure you are not really a:

I wonder if this is what hell feels like? Posting something stupid to the WF and nobody being able to let it go. :^)

And how the hell do you know if I'm not an atomic bomb? Atom bombs are tied into the internet too you know.

[ExRat]

Hi Allen,

Ref - the picture of the cigar lady in Josh's post/your avatar

My mate Ronnie Balfour Corbett has been searching for ages to try and find the Cuban woman who pinched his glasses. I see she's bust them and fixed them with some sticky tape. 'And it's goodnight from him...' (ref - The Two Ronnies - you need to be an ageing Brit to understand this drivel)

Ronnie Corbett - Pictures, News, Video Clips, Layouts, Wallpapers & Fan Club - Flixster

[Keith Boisvert]

I wonder if this is what hell feels like? Posting something stupid to the WF and nobody being able to let it go. :^)

Nope. It gets worse At least you can log off. Say something equally stupid to your wife...now THAT"S hell!

Trust me. I have 2 years left in hell, 14 months on good behavior.


keith

[BrianMcLeod]

Originally Posted by ExRat

My mate Ronnie Balfour Corbett has been searching for ages to try and find the Cuban woman who pinched his glasses.

Oh... She lives a few doors down from me.

She said he told her she could have them...

At least, I think that's what she said.

Yo soy un gringo. Mi español esta malo.

Best,

Breeang

[ExRat]

Hi,

If you going to ruin your lungs anyway, you might as well fall off your perch in style (AKA my smoking old lady trumps yours and she's older - or was it the filterless cigarettes that gave her the wrinkles?)

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/blogs/s...ade/spliff.jpg

Like Kevin R did in his pre-beard days -

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m...uperSpliff.jpg