Misleading avatars
I've noticed a couple of people have started using avatars which are an image of the Ozbargain voting box with 200+ and similar numbers on them… I find them very distracting and misleading and wonder if anyone else agrees that they should not be allowed?
Poll Options Expires at Tue, 07/08/2012 - 07:29
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15
Yeah, they should be banned
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2
I don't like them but they shouldn't be banned
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37
Nah, they don't worry me
Comments
+2 votesYou mean like this one here. http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/9558cd2381dfe881e63b5bfeee3c0...
If small things as such confuses you then i wonder what else confuses you. Get over it.
+4 votesgreenpossum on 31/07/2012 - 08:15 ¶Just make yourself a -500 avatar to mock them. :) This sort of thing gets old quickly, no need for another "law".
Moderators actually got quite a few reports of those avatar images, so yes, they are confusing. Probably not to some who used the site often, know the people, can spot fake buttons from a mile away, and are bothered to participate in this poll in the forums. But they do distract many other users/visitors, thinking they might have seen a good deal on OzBargain but in fact they were looking at someone else's avatar image.
OzBargain moderators do reserve the right to disable "offending" avatar images, and we'll see how many complains/reports we got on these ones.
+1 voteFound it http://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/54506. Viewing it big is not a problem but if you check out http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/76067, I feel like wiping the screen. Guess I'm glad it's not an animated gif.
huntress_love on 15/08/2012 - 14:18 ¶didn't notice till you mentioned it. was very small on screen!
This one always cracks me up as well. http://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/42865
It's just like going to a pub, and accidentally hear a joke and take offence of it. I mean, sure you're offended, but the joke (or the avatar in this case) isn't meant to offend you. If it's me, I'll class this as personal preference issue, and if I have to do something about it (only if I have to), it'll still be last thing of my todo list.
I don't think that's a valid example. If the avatar was a naked lady or a swastika then that would apply to your example.
I don't think anyone finds a voting icon offensive but it's certainly confusing for some to have it above voting icons that look exactly the same? Using the mobile site may be even more confusing. Fortunately, clicking on an icon doesn't do anything.
I don't understand why people are getting so nasty at morini? We (the users, the mods) all want to make the community running as smoothly as possible. Any feedback to improve that experience is always welcomed.
- -2 votes
No one is being nasty with Morini. Just as Morini spoke his mind so are we. I am trying to say is if people find such smalls things annoying, confusing and what not then how do you guys go about handling situations in your life.
I find seeing these icons very interesting and amusing. Makes Ozbargain an interesting and unique place to be in. I find some of these people are very creative.
I love the -500 and -200 signs, i'd love to see the bug icon too and i love the cow with it's tongue sticking out icon and maybe even barts ass.
As the mod says, regulars will soon learn what they are - and then vote on here. But one-off visitors will be confused.
The first time I saw one I thought it meant 200+34 (where 34 was the true score.)
And I find some people who dismiss this as an issue a touch aggressive. We are all smart people on here.
+1 voteFor those who are easily offended by avatars, you can disable them completely.
Add this into your rule on Adblock Plus (Firefox, Chrome)
*gravatar.com/avatar/*
Agreed, not at all offensive, just annoying as it sometimes makes you do a double take before you click.
As more and more users inexplicably get on this wagon by changing their avatars to something similar, I've started blocking them individually as they appear.
A couple clicks and the problem is solved, that is until the next one comes along which it almost inevitably will it seems.
Not everyone runs adblocking software though, there are probably some out there that this issue is annoying more than others as they aren't savvy enough to know how to make it stop.
- +2 votes
It's not as big an issue to me as some of the comments say, I was just bringing it up for discussion. I'm not the one getting offended, frustrated, exasperated etc by people having a different opinion to me.
It's more the distraction that bothers me (a little!) and possibly other OzB longtermers, and potential confusion for newbies. I like to glance down a list and see what's getting lots of votes and those avatars slow the process. As Scotty points out useability is an important part of the OzB website.
(LOL at Neil's comment about the bug… I'll have to look out for that one)
I guess to me I see it a number of ways.
- It can be confusing.
- Is it that big a deal - no
- We now have three with these , well what if we have another 10 do the same, 800+ 900+ 1100+ 666+ 121- etc
Again most of us will just live with it.
But all that said, I really can't see the point of these avatars, and if it aggravates some, why do it? Its a community to share.
- +4 votesgreenpossum on 01/08/2012 - 14:53 ¶
I'd be just as happy if the site didn't offer avatars at all. Some are amusing, but in the end it's just a vanity thing.
Moots on 03/08/2012 - 17:28 Comment score below threshold (-9).
spawnpoint on 22/08/2012 - 16:04 Comment score below threshold (0).
+6 votessamfisher5986 on 04/08/2012 - 11:33 ¶Fastest way to get this banned? join in on the fun! :)
(Mine is better then moots' avatar!) Yes that is a dead pixel on your screen.
But does it make the point though?
I think its annoying having to do a double-take when you see these OzBargain elements. The vote box ones especially because of the way they are shown on the main deals page.
I think they should be banned.
So I'll go back to my old OzBargain logo avatar now lol.
+2 votesProspectiveDarkness on 29/08/2012 - 20:34 ¶I didn't mind it when there was only one, but now that its becoming something of a trend…
+4 votesJabba the Hutt on 29/08/2012 - 20:55 ¶i did a double-take the first few times i saw them. it remains kind of annoying in the same way non-capitalised sentences can be annoying. seems trivial but screws with the brain's pattern recognition and slows its processing a tiny bit. like a frame rate stutter in your head :D
+1 voteFreckleNuts on 02/09/2012 - 12:26 ¶I say get rid of them.
The joke is only funny the first time, and that was a while ago.Newcomers to the site shouldn't have to deal with this garbage.
+3 votesI've visited OzBargain nearly every day for the last two years so I'm pretty used to how the site looks and works. However, the first time I saw one of those avatars I was definitely confused. I quickly realised what it was and had a quiet chuckle to myself as I thought it was quite clever. A month later and man I'm sick of seeing them.
I particularly hate the "Herr derp if it's not harming you then don't whinge about it!" stance that a few users seem to be taking above. Of course it's not "harming" anyone but if it confusing/annoying then that is a valid concern to have.
I'm not sure if "banning" it is the right idea. I'm not big on censorship even though it might stop something from annoying me. I.e. Justin Bieber annoys me, but I'm not sure punching him in the voicebox is the right thing to do. I'm pretty content to judge the user in my mind and silently call them a sheep.
- -3 votesgreenpossum on 02/09/2012 - 23:52 ¶
I particularly hate the "Herr derp if it's not harming you then don't whinge about it!" stance that a few users seem to be taking above. Of course it's not "harming" anyone but if it confusing/annoying then that is a valid concern to have.
So you are blaming us who don't care either way because you changed your mind about the avatars? If you dislike them now, then own up 100% to your view. :P
- +2 votesProspectiveDarkness on 03/09/2012 - 01:21 ¶
That's not really what he was getting at. At all.
If you read my whole comment, you will find that you have completely misconstrued what I was saying. In fact, if you actually read the two sentences you have quoted, I think you'll find that you have misconstrued what I was saying.
I was just saying that a strict application of the "harm principle" is rarely helpful - especially in this context when we are talking about something as benign as a 38x38 picture. However, if something is annoying a not negligible portion of users, it is something that clearly warrants at least discussion.
Think about UNIT and 'My Family' stickers, or bogans replacing their Holden badge with a Chevy one. Someone talking loudly on their phone in an elevator. Teeny boppers talking/giggling throughout a movie. Uwe Boll films.
None of these are harmful (unless you count the bogans harming our gene pool) but I'm willing to bet that you find at least one of them annoying.
- greenpossum on 03/09/2012 - 08:49 ¶
Speaking for myself, I don't really care if they are banned or not since I don't pay attention to the avatars. I don't even look at the votes until I have read the text of the offer. So if the consensus is that they are annoying, go ahead and remove them.
I actually think it's easy to fix, just separate the + and - bars vertically so that it's hard to make an avatar that looks like them. That would also make it easier to vote on small devices. Ditto for the comment votes, they need more horizontal separation. Unfortunately the page designer seems to like the current placement too much, ignoring usability. He/she should try viewing OzB on a smartphone more often.
You're not the first person to mention that. I don't think there is much standing in the way of implementing that change aside from potential aesthetic issues. I don't think it's fair to have a go at the "page designer" for apparently "ignoring usability". The fact that you don't know his name means that you have obviously not voiced your opinion to him. How can anything change if you don't say anything? Maybe make your own thread and see if there is enough support for a change. It doesn't bother me because I'm on my PC 99% of the time and if I'm not, I'm using the big screen of my Galaxy Note.
- +2 votesFreckleNuts on 03/09/2012 - 09:26 ¶
I think the notion of censorship is a little bit out of place here.
It's an avatar, on a website - we're not talking about any fundamental threat to our democracy. There are all sorts of regulations & guidelines simply designed to make the world spin a little more cleanly.
Nor would it be especially difficult - you see one, you ask them to change it. I suspect some deal posters deliberately use this form to mislead - it's not a joke for them.
However it may also be true that there are bigger fish and frogs to fry. The mods may be busy enough just popping people into the Penalty Box now and again.
Damn i'm cute.
Update
The moderators have discussed this and come up with some guidelines. Please see new guidelines for profile avatars.
Feel free to discuss here.
Edit — basically we will start banning (overriding with default image) these avatars:
- R or X rated gravatars
- Images that mimic buttons and control elements on OzBargain
- Images that mimic or lampoon another member's avatar
If your profile avatar has been overridden with a default one, you need to get it changed and then request a moderator to unblock it.
1
really? I mean, seriously, really?