Why won't you make your own photo your avatar on fluther?

Anonymity. And not wanting to be related to as whatever people might read into a photo.

I have before. I don’t now. To quote Lita Ford, “It ain’t no big thang”.

Because, who the fuck wants to see that?

i prefer clever to self-serving

I was actually just thinking of changing mine to a picture of me. I just have to charge my laptop and I’ll probably do that, so maybe most of the people who actually read this will see my pretty face.

Cause everyone knows me as the Penguin.

@janbb . . . omg! you’re burgess merideth!?! i thought you were dead!

waddles and cackles

@Blondesjon Why is it self-serving to have a photo of yourself as your avatar?

And why do you think it is “clever” to use a picture of someone else?

@ladymia69 . . . because

If I took Zuppy away, I’d be hated and vilified by too many Jellies.

@Blondesjon That was mind-bendingly good answering…I am a convert!

@JilltheTooth Yeah, I wouldn’t recognize a lot of people I know on fluther without their associated images.

Anonymity.

Mine is as close to my actual looks as you are going to see :p

I’ve got a thing about how I think I look and how I appear in pictures. You might get a picture from childhood now and then.

Well, I’d never assume a person would just use their photo; an avatar can be anything. I used to post interesting designs as my avatars on other sites, before I got used to posting my photo and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.

I use my photo because that’s what I look like. If someone doesn’t like the way I look they don’t have to view the damned photo! : D

For me, it’s becaue I feel like the “not-me” avatar I put up is actually a better representation of me than a lot of the pictures I have of my physical self.

I prefer not to be looked at.

I’m not afraid to show what I look like. I have a link on my profile to Flicker that has a photo of me. My husband and I have this thing going (matching our avatars in different ways) and I like it that way.

Because I like my Gone With the Wind Twelve Oaks sign better—goes with the nickname better than a self-portrait.

I am using a painting of me created by friend and artist Richard Morris right now but really I prefer being Dug from “up” or @petethepothead’s rabbit. I like how mellow and cheerful they are.

@Dog I’m giving you a commission of infinite <3 if you do a self portrait and make it your avatar.

It is me. My ass is fabulous, isn’t it?

I have done so a few times in the past, if there happened to be a picture of myself that would translate well to the icon thing here (especially pre-new profiles when all you got was a tiny little thing). Aside from that, I usually don’t much like pictures of myself and I deal with enough self-consciousness about my looks on a daily basis, so I find it easier and more pleasant to find witty, fun, and/or random things to put as my icon.

Because I like my suicidal Teddy Bear or my Tim Hortons cup…...
as soon as I get a chance to combine them It will be perfect

<————————

My alter ego prohibits me from showing my true identity.

Well, I’m facebook friends with a lot of Jellies so they all know what I look like and I’ve put my picture up on at least one of the “what do you look like threads” so, right now, it’s just about habit. People like Neytiri and so do I so I plan on keeping her that way. :)

There actually used to be a bit of a running joke that no one knew what I looked like so Neytiri (or Spock or my favorite shoes) just furthered the joke.:)

@KatawaGrey I will always think of you as having greenish blue skin.

I prefer privacy. Cate, on the other hand, likes to show her face, and so I oblige.

If I hadn’t kind of unintentionally wandered into the habit of using the face of a famous actress and dressing her up for various occasions, I probably would have chosen something symbolic or maybe just a picture I liked.

Anonymity and a desire to not hear how ugly I am, or how hot I am or anything in between. But really, it’s mostly about anonymity. I can’t afford to be recognized here by anyone I know in real life. Not that anyone I know in real life would ever be here, but you never know.

Well, because of my screen name. My face is not made of chocolate. :P

@wundayatta Why are you so frightened to be recognized, if I may ask? From my experience, our fears and anxieties about peoples’ opinions of us are unfounded about 70% of the time. meaning 70% of the time, people are indifferent to you, and most of the fear is in your head.

But then again, I am willing to reiterate that that is my experience.

It ruined this guy’s career.

@worriedguy HA! Um…I think that’s a topic for a different thread. Suffice it to say, I am glad that a lot of these half-witted politicians are just weeding themselves out. Makes it a lot easier for everyone.

I alternate, and, the most recent alteration was recent.

I like to have a visual of others, but, at the same time, I get tired of my own face after awhile. haha

The odds of anyone recognizing me from a little micro photo doesn’t concern me in the least.

If you can find me, well….good for you! lol

Actually I am looking for something new and more colorful, and, in case anyone is wondering, no, my avatar is not reflective of me being a Cougar. haha

I live in Mtn. Lion territory and I think they are one of the most beautiful of cats.

‘Cause my avatar is freaking awesome, dude.

Partly for privacy – I never use my photo as an avatar. Partly because when I joined Fluther, they only allowed really, really teeny avatars.
I don’t even have any current photos of me. I just don’t have any desire to have my photo taken. It’s not that I don’t care for how I look, so much as how I look in pictures – I’m bad at taking them, and once they’re taken, that’s it, you can’t move that strand of hair out of the way or lift your chin or make your eyes look less stoned.

@Coloma You have “cats”. We have these guys in our area.

@worriedguy

You know, I can post a picture of myself with no shirt on if you like. : D

( Suitable for pest control and other uses )

I don’t use a picture of me, because I don’t like to be reminded how large my forehead is becoming.

Partly for privacy and anonymity, partly because, and I usually use the same very brightly colored kind of abstract avatar rather than this snow ‘n ice thing, for practical reasons; I need the brightly colored avatar so I can find myself on a thread if someone responds to something I said, and partly because I really don’t like looking at pictures of myself and so I don’t, and partly because if I don’t like looking at pictures of myself I certainly don’t intend to impose pictures of myself on other people.

I’m not terribly photogenic, for one. But I also think my avatars better reflect my personality and interests than a picture of me would.

<——This is me. I have a rare condition.

Not an issue for me as you can see. Well….. do ya feel lucky, punk!! Yes I know, wrong movie, so sue me :¬)

Because I don’t feel the need for others approval of what I look like. Some people obviously feel the need to flaunt their looks and maybe are looking for more than answers to questions here. Whatever.

Because it’s the Internet.

You never know who’s watching.

Privacy. Anonymity.

@worriedguy

Yes, lots of Coyotes here too, and, sadly, I lost a cat in Sept. to one.
I also was reading recently that Bobcats steer clear of Coyotes, I would have thought a Bobcat would trump a Coyote in fierceness but, apparently not.

@ladymia69 You’re new here. Read back a few years when I talk a lot about mental illness and infidelity. My family doesn’t know about these things. If they should happen on this site, I don’t want them finding out about those things. When hiding things, you can’t be too careful. The risk may be small, but it’s there.

Maybe most of us have things that are “nobody’s business” or “boring” to others. So most people don’t talk about it in depth. When I started, I wanted to be able to talk about everything. I was able to do that… for a while, when I was new and had no history here, no people who I didn’t want to disappoint.

It still shouldn’t matter what anyone says about me or to me, since no one knows me. But it does. Maybe if I were to talk about certain things, people wouldn’t get on my case. But I doubt it. If the world were different, and people didn’t judge each other so much, maybe I could show my face. Even then, I don’t think I would like the idea of people judging my looks.

When I had to rely on my looks to create the first impression that people had of me, I did not have all that much attention. When I lead with my words, people seem to get a more positive idea about who I am. If people don’t give me a chance to talk, they tend to overlook me. Very rarely do people try to find out more about me. Here, some people like my words enough to tell me so. That never happens in real life. Well, maybe once.

There’s a group I hang out with—pretty creative people. We usually have a chance to speak to everyone else, for a minute or two, each week. Once someone told me that she always looks forwards to hearing what I have to say. As you can see, that has made a big impression on me. On fluther, it is not such a rare thing, but it happens often enough that I get a bit overwhelmed and sometimes try to talk people out of it. For a person who is not used to that kind of appreciation, actually getting it can be too much, at times.

My philosophy is ’ if you have nothing to hide you hide nothing.’

I am a very authentic person, I have no secrets, nothing to hide, and live a fearless life.

I have no skeletons in my closet and therefore, no problem sharing my face, or general geographic location.

I respect others reasons for keeping their privacy and identity on the down low, but, in my case, I show up here exactly as I am in real life. What you see is what you get. ;-)

I just find pictures of things that I like more interesting than a picture of myself (not that I don’t like myself but, you know what I mean!). It’s not a privacy thing.

I used to be staunchly against posting photos of myself because I was worried about privacy too and didn’t want people to judge my appearance before my opinions.
I just became tired of trying to find different pictures that would represent who I am (which is hard in itself) and thought well, nothing represents me more than an actual picture of me. I trust most of the people on Fluther, no way would I post a picture on Yahoo! Answers or anything like that.

I feel the same as @ilana. I have a really difficult time finding avatars that suit me.. that aren’t actually me. Nothing really screams “that is so Neffie” like a picture of Neffie.
And, just for the record, I would hardly consider it “flaunting.” lol.

@ANef_is_Enuf

I agree!

I have used a picture in the past, but I really like this shot and it relaxes me each time I see it.

@Coloma May I just say, you’re one of the most beeyuteefull cats I’ve ever seen!

I’ve been using this one because it’s one of my favorite pictures. Honestly though, when I see avatars that are real people, I actually don’t associate that as being what the person really looks like. I’m not sure why, exactly, but I guess because I’m so use to them being something other than the real person that I just don’t really notice it and realize that it could be that actual person in their avatar.

Its not so much that I don’t trust the community of Fluther, but anyone on the entire Internet can access this site without needing to register first.

In past years I used to be quite regularly active on a Forum site where people did have to register first and even then I didn’t put my pic on.

You just never know what kind of obsessive nut cases are out there.

Better safe than sorry is my motto.

For me, besides anonymity, I don’t think there is a need for people to see how I look – I am 99.9% sure I am never going to [intentionally] meet anyone from here in person anyways, this is not that kind of site. Other than that, if I ever say anything I don’t want people I know to uncover, I’d be pretty screwed if my photo was plastered up next to said comment(s).

Is it a privacy and anonymity thing?

Yes.

<—Bam! There’s my pretty face (now without camouflage, even).

@incendiary_dan Verrrrry niiiiiiiiiiiice!

@seazen

I heartily concur.

I see that, as usual, great minds think alike :)

I think my latest one is quite fitting.
But she needs a Grey Goose martini in her hand instead of wine. ;-)

Not knowing anything about the computer , I posted my own pictures everywhere and had fun doing it , though now that I know more about how the computer world really is , I still use my pictures since there already out there , though sometimes I wish I hadn’t .

—— My pictures are in good taste , nothing to be ashamed of ( Heck I’m 55 ) lol

Quite simply… because I don’t know how to do it !!!

I’ve done it most of the time, get tired of looking at it then put it back up. With 5 billion people on the planet I don’t think I’ll be noticed. If I will, clue me in on how that would work. lol