What the heck is an Avatar anyway?

Avatars are those small images of people and things you see directly underneath a members name when they post. Avatars are an eye-catching way to show who or what you are interested in. Sometimes it is just fun to browse the Avatars and see what kind of things are available. There are currently over 500 different Avatars to choose from, with more added all the time! Currently, the overwhelming majority of Avatars are characters, from historical personalities, and film characters to animated figures. Plans are in place to include vehicles, aircraft, weapons and even insignia, but the emphasis will always remain upon characters and personalities.



What do I need to do to have an Avatar?

You must be a registered member and have at least 100 posts to be able to select an Avatar.


How do I select an Avatar?

This is easy, just follow these steps, (You must of course be a registered Forum member with at least 100 post and logged in):


1) Click on the my profile link located near the top of all WW2 Forums web pages.

2) Click on the " View/Update Profile " link located near the upper left of your personal profile page.

3) Scroll down to about the middle of this new web page, you will see a heading that says: "Avatar Image:", to the right of this you will see a link like this Select a different Avatar Image, click it and a new window will pop-up.

4) You will see a page of 30 or so Avatars, if you want to see more options, select the next link at the bottom right of this pop-up window. Once you se an Avatar you like, simply click on it.

5) Click the Select This Avatar button, (the pop-up window will disappear).

6) You will now be back at your View/Update Profile page, scroll to the bottom and click the Update Profile button.

7) Enjoy your new Avatar


You can change your Avatar as often as you like, just follow the above process.


Is there any organizational system with these Avatars?

Yes, for little more details on the Avatars, this is how they are organized:


-Historical Personalities, grouped by nation and then branch of service
-Films, grouped more or less by title, (IE Saving Private Ryan is SPR), in most cases images from the movie poster(s) have been included before the characters of that film
-TV shows, including cartoons
-PC and Console games
-Custom Living History Avatars, grouped by nation, (feel free to submit yours!) It is generally accepted that you do not select from among these custom Avatars unless you are the person depicted in the image.
-Military Insignia


I saw someone on the Forums with a cool Avatar, but I couldn't find it in the Avatar Depot, what's going on?

Forum moderators and administrators can define their own Avatars from off the site. Regular members can select only from the Avatar Depot.


Where do the Avatars come from?

All Avatars were created by the WWII Forums membership.


Can I set my own Avatar path?

No, we don't allow off-site linking to Avatars. We do this to prevent links to Avatars that may be too large, (in both dimensions and file size), or avatars that may contain questionable content.


Can I make an Avatar and send it in, or send in an image to be made into an Avatar?

Sure, we would love to add your images to the Avatar Depot. Just keep a couple things in mind when you do this:


-The image must be in some way related to the Second World War
-Make your Avatars 100 pixels high by 100 pixels wide.
-Avatars must have a 1 pixel wide border
-For classification purposes, we will need to know exactly what the picture is of and where you got the original image. *note: We do not unilaterally accept all Avatar submissions, please don't be offended if we don't use yours
-For the time being, send all avatar related communication to Otto.


What if I don't like your Avatars? What then?

While most people enjoy seeing everyone else's Avatars, there are some who would rather not. Sometimes it is because people have a little bit slower computer, and sometimes it is just because people simply don't like them, in any case users can select whether to see other user avatars or not.


How do I hide other members Avatars from my view?

This is easy, simply go into your profile by selecting the my profile link, then click on " View/Update Profile ". On this page you will see a question: Hide Avatars of Other Users?. The default option for this is no, meaning no Avatars will be hidden, if you select yes, then no Avatars will be shown to you.

[ 11. November 2006, 12:38 PM: Message edited by: Otto ]