Why thank you, I made it. And of course I didn't actually mean that your ignorance amazed me, just a tad annoyed that after having the avatar for a week or more that you didn't recall it :/
We all go through that "phase" where we like to experiment and try new things. Thankfully I avoided certain aspects of that in college, and I don't mean the marijuana kind. People who change avatars too much are those who are going to be "trying new things"
Seriously Rico, when I look at your name, I do instantly see Neo inside my head. There are three things on an Internet BBS that can represent who we truly are: our actions, our handle (IE, our name on the messageboard), and, of course, our avatar.
Warning: The following paragraphs show I have trouble condensing my thoughts.
Our actions speak for themselves, literally. Just like in real life, they define who we are, and usually more so then we allow other people to see. If you are cool on the Internet, then you are cool in real life - no matter how uncool you appear to be. If you are an idiot on the Internet, then you are an idiot in real life - no matter how debonair you appear to be. Anyone who tries to deny this are just deluding themselves and others, wearing a "mask" that they throw off when they interact anonymously.
Our handle is like our "true" name. We live with a name we never had a choice with, so we must define the name instead of the name defining us. I could be named Human #10^100 + 23 and it wouldn't matter. My handle may look pretty stupid, but it represents my past on the Internet, and it has evolved and matured with me. Yet since I was born to when I die, I shall be a "Matthew". Note I have no reservations being born a Matthew, I like the name, and liking or disliking the name given to you is not the point of this paragraph.
Our avatar is the face of our persona, a glimpse of our true self. What can you learn by looking at me? That the men in my family have acne and vision problems? From that, you can gather that I didn't get much dates as a teenager, which is true, and you can make all sorts of assumptions from that, but how is that nearly conclusive? I never chose to have an oily face and vision problems, that was just the card life delt me. Things I cannot possibly control do not define me. My choice in avatars is one of things I can control.
Yes, I did have an avatar before the animated mosiac of NES screens, but I always had the feeling I was growing out of Dias of Star Ocean. I only used Dias because I had used him on previous message boards for about a year or two. After making a mosiac for NesterGP and never having it used, I realized that the mosiac defined me better then Dias. Really, I was using Dias to cover up for my own weaknesses. The fact was, I wanted to BE like Dias, but I wasn't really LIKE Dias. Sure, I try to retain a calm manner like Dias, but I'm not nearly as reserved or intense. I like to get silly at times, which is totally unlike Dias. I think I have a decent sense of humour, and can brush things off with a smile, which is again not like Dias.
As for people changing their avatars. Call me a conservatist, but I am against it for some people. I'll start with the man in question first.
Rico - To me, Neo defines you. Your name is strong, which is why weak avatars do not seem to fit you. The attitude I see is one who can joke with the best of them, but takes crap from no one, willing to dish out seriously hurtage with a smile on his face. Even in the face of idiots, you remain calm and reserved, just like Neo. And you also can manipulate PHP, which is almost as cool as being able to manipulate virtual reality.
EvilDragon - You are absurdly evil. That is to say, you are best defined with someone, or something, in an evil-but-non-threatening pose. This is probably because "Evil" is at the start of your name, but your actions seem anything but evil. Yet you are a moderator, which ultimately makes you evil, but in a non-threatening way
sam fisher - You are Cosmo from Fairly Oddparents. There is no question, and no more needed discussion. If you said, "Hey look at me, I have pixy dust in my shorts!", I don't think anyone would be very surprised.
bringoutthegimp - I hate to name an asshole like you, but Gary Coleman really does define you - you're both asshole children/adults
Dalto - When I think of you, I think of a guy wearing glasses and a goatee smirking at some idiot's question on IRC...that idiot usually being me
I obviously can't name everyone, but there are those among you that either change your avatars too much (making them meaningless) or don't really have avatars I feel "define you". Taking myself in example again, notice cool dancing Stormy in my sig - when I found him in my misc. pictures, I wanted him as an avatar. But then I realized there was no way he really defined me, as cool as he is, so I put him in my sig. People who like to change their avatars often should put those pictures in their sig instead - it would, if anything, help reduce the number of HUGE images in sigs as the avatar images are a lot smaller, and we moderators would also be on people's asses who try to fit BOTH images inside their sig!
So...anyway I wrote too much so now I'm tired, and if you read from the start to finish, you're probably tired too. So g'night.
