Pics as avatars?

I don't think people would recognise me at all if I took away my yellow face after all this time amd posted a picture of myself. I would not use a picture of someone else but the one I use says it all - I'm dubious about everything and sums me up I feel many think that online they can get away with a lot of things, including a false appearance but I think it wears off after a time. When you write to me I'm eaither laughing or wearing THAT face like in my avatar and I'm leaving well alone

You have to respect the privacy, if someone wants to not put up his/her pictture. But yes, i do think putting someone else's picture is wrong. They can put up a pic of something, not someone, something close to them or an animation .. an object maybe. But i dont understand why do you need a picture to know whom you are talking to ... dont get me wrong, i wont mind putting up my pics if someone asks me to .. but most friends i have made here know me by the thoughts i have and kind of responses i write .. not by how i look. Think about it ;) .. Have a nice day.

I think it's just a personal preference. Personally, I do use a picture of myself as my avatar, but on message boards and stuff in the past I have used band avatars and other stuff like that. Some of it might be wanting to keep their identity private. I do agree with mentalward, it should be about ideas and content and not about how the person looks. And I also agree that people would get along in life better if we appearances weren't an issue. At the same time, I like to put a name and idea with a face, not because I am judging it by how they look, but because it personalizes it. But overall it really doesn't matter much to me. Personally I am very self conscious and I usually have to go through at least a dozen pictures before I'm willing to use it as my myspace or mylot picture. So some people may be too self conscious to use their picture. Everyone has their reasons for the icon they use, just like everyone has a story behind their screen name.

I wouldn't know if the picture of a person's avatar is really them or someone else. I think it's safe to say when someone uses a picture of a dog, you're not replying to a dog. Maybe they aren't proud of how they look or wish to remain anonymous?

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. I really don't think it matters. Who you are responding to really has nothing to do with what they look like, how old they are or any other physical characteristic. It is, or should be, entirely based on the content of their posts. Call me an old hippie, but I honestly feel that people would get along much better if we couldn't see what they looked like.