need an avatar?

[Autumn]

how do i choose an avatar?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

In one of three ways:

• Click on the "Profile" button in the main menu located at the top and bottom of the forum's pages, and then click on the "Forum Profile Information" link under the "Modify Profile" heading on the left.
  • When that page comes up, the first option you have is to select an avatar from the ones already available. Simply highlight the directories (Actors, Animations, DarkShadows, etc.) and then highlight the name of each avatar stored in that directory to see what it looks like. If you see one that you'd like to use, keep it highlighted, be sure the circle opposite "Personalized Picture:" is selected/filled in, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on the "Change profile" button to save your choice.
  • The second option is to upload an avatar to your own Web space and then to link to it. To do this, make sure the circle opposite "I have my own pic:" is selected/filled in, enter the URL for the avatar image on your Web space in the box provided at the right, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on the "Change profile" button to save your choice. When chosing this option be sure to create an avatar that's no larger than 82 pixels wide and 86 pixels long because that's the largest size an avatar can be. Any images that are bigger will be resized to those dimensions, and that could easily cause them to display strangely.
  • The third option is one that hasn't been officially announced yet (but one that several members have discovered on their own), and it's to upload an avatar to the forum's own Web space. To use this option be sure that the circle opposite "I will upload my own picture:" is selected/filled in, click the "Browse" button to the right of the provided box to navigate to the directory on your computer's hard drive where you've stored the image you want to use as your avatar, double-click on its filename so that its full path will automatically appear in the box, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on the "Change profile" button to save your choice. When chosing this option, as with option two, be sure to create an avatar that's no larger than 82 pixels wide and 86 pixels long because that's the largest size an avatar can be. Any images that are bigger will be resized to those dimensions before they're uploaded, and that could easily cause them to display strangely. Also, this option should really only be used by cousins who don't have the ability to store an avatar image in their own Web space.

[Midnite]

• The second option is to upload an avatar to your own Web space and then to link to it. To do this ...
• The third option is ... to upload an avatar to the forum's own Web space. To use this option ...

Regarding either of the above options for adding an avatar to a personal profile, we can't stress enough that an image taken from another website and displayed here without the permission of that site owner may not be linked to (in the case of the 2nd option) or uploaded (as per the 3rd option) for use as an avatar.  Unless the site that is the source of the image expressly states that its images may be taken for use elsewhere, or the site owner has given you permission to use the image elsewhere as your avatar, the image may not appear in your avatar space.

More information on image theft is available by searching the Testing 1, 2, 3 board or Googling the web.

Thanks!