back to top41 Comments to “What is the meaning of…avatar?”

1. BY kBells 10.03.07 AT 2:59 PM

   I wonder if I could find a picture of that little guy on the kid’s show “Avatar, the last air bender.” I don’t suppose people would think that is what I look like.

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2. BY krm 10.03.07 AT 2:59 PM

   Be forewarned – gravatar.com is no picnic to deal with (I’ve had horribly slow loads of each page and regular crashes – all with virtually no user friendliness or directions provided – so as to have still been unable to create an icon after several visits).

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3. BY Hamachi 10.03.07 AT 3:02 PM

   It really is simple if you follow the cues at gravatar. Photos of any size will work as it will be resized appropriately during the process. No need to resize prior. Also, you are given the option of entering a url if you would like to use in image off the internet, or upload one of your own.

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4. BY Hamachi 10.03.07 AT 3:03 PM

   I agree with krm that the site is a real dog.

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5. BY musing 10.03.07 AT 3:16 PM

   Sigh…

   I created an gravatar this morning, but it has not appeared yet. And I did use the correct email address.

   Sigh…

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6. BY Anlir 10.03.07 AT 3:18 PM

   Woo-hoo! I figured it out! It wasn’t so bad. Of course the trick will be if it actually works -:)
   If it does, I will be glad to help anyone do their avatar. Note: I tried all day yesterday and kept getting timed-out. Today I got on with no problem.

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7. BY Anlir 10.03.07 AT 3:19 PM

   Ok, must remember…Lynn said it takes an hour or so…I’ll be back.

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8. BY musing 10.03.07 AT 3:19 PM

   So I went back to gravatar.

   It looks like you have to select it after you create it!

   We will see if it now comes through.

   Sigh…

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9. BY RobHays 10.03.07 AT 3:24 PM

   Hamachi, props for literalism in your avatar. Now I’m hungry…

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10. BY trr 10.03.07 AT 3:33 PM

    Lynn is on top of it! I just e-mailed her about half an hour ago asking this and couple other things, and she replied to me and posted this since then. What did we do to deserve such great service!
    I made my gravatar about an hour ago, so maybe it will show up now. . .

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11. BY Hamachi 10.03.07 AT 3:36 PM

    Me too, rob. A big old plate of hamachi with fresh wasabi would really hit the spot about now. And clear out my sinuses! I have a terrible cold.

    I also thought of naming my self tako sunomono, another of my favorite foods.

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12. BY Hamachi 10.03.07 AT 3:38 PM

    Musing, et al, be patient. Mine took several hours to appear. In time….

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13. BY John GraspingfortheWind 10.03.07 AT 3:42 PM

    Just testing to see if it works

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14. BY Cuthalion 10.03.07 AT 3:54 PM

    Argh! I keep getting timed out just trying to go to http://www.gravatar.com. Oi vey. I’ll just keep trying, I guess. And someone tell me if I’m spelling “oi vey” right.

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15. BY Cuthalion 10.03.07 AT 4:08 PM

    Yay! It finally worked. That wasn’t too bad. Now I just have to wait until it shows up…

    Great av, hamachi! I love it.

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16. BY Peter L 10.03.07 AT 4:18 PM

    Yesterday the site just clocked and stalled. I tried earlier today and was successful. Let’s see if it is up now.

    Cuthalion- I think it is spelled oy veh. Being a Spanish teacher, and using that phrase, I get asked what it means. When people find out it is Yiddish, they think I am really multilingual. Truth is, I only know a couple of words in many languages, besides being fluent in English and Spanish.

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17. BY Amphipolis 10.03.07 AT 4:18 PM

    You should put avatars on the meet the regulars page.

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18. BY EYG 10.03.07 AT 4:23 PM

    I was hoping gravatar helped you make a little cartoon of yourself, like AOL’s little “wee me”. Instead it assumes you have any notion how to upload, download, etc.
    I kept looking for a user friendly icon maker and alas, found none.
    Did I miss it, or is it not there?

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19. BY trr 10.03.07 AT 4:34 PM

    FYI:
    The word “avatar” derives from the Sanskrit term Avatāra, meaning “incarnation” and usually refers to the deliberate descent of an immortal or divine being into the mortal realm for a special purpose. The term is used primarily in Hindu texts. For example, Krishna is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu the Preserver, whom many Hindus worship as God.
    (from http://www.wikipedia.org)

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20. BY Cuthalion 10.03.07 AT 4:40 PM

    You don’t want an icon maker. What you need is some sort of image creation program. Examples include MS Paint (comes on most/all windows PCs, but extremely limited), Adobe Photoshop (expensive), and The GIMP (free). Unfortunately, all of these require training to some degree.

    If you don’t know how to use these, you’re best off finding a picture on the internet, having a friend make one for you, or taking a picture on a digital camera and putting it on your computer.

    Once you have a picture on your computer or the URL of a picture on the internet, you can follow the easy-to-find prompts on gravatar to upload the picture. There’s nothing to uploading: just follow the directions, and it does the rest.

    To download a picture, just right-click on the picture, click “Save Picture As” (or the most similar-looking option), and follow the prompts.

    Any questions?

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21. BY Cameron 10.03.07 AT 4:46 PM

    A less tech-savvy tip: right-click on an image you like, save it to your hard drive (remember where! Desktop is easiest), then go to gravatar.com. Choose the “hard drive/computer” option and click the “Browse” button. Find the icon you saved, click “Open” (I think), and it should automatically put the code for the image in the box next to “Browse”. Then you’re asked to select and confirm a couple of times (sorry-I’m doing it from memory).

    Mine took nearly a day to arrive-be patient!

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22. BY Kennethos 10.03.07 AT 4:49 PM

    Fun stuff, this avatar business! Now if only I had a *real* avatar!

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23. BY Kennethos 10.03.07 AT 4:52 PM

    Hmm. I may need to follow Anlir’s advice and wait patiently.
    Hmm.
    (One of the few times I might follow another perspective’s advice…

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24. BY Cameron 10.03.07 AT 4:53 PM

    If someone would like help with creating an avatar, email me at cameryn_nc@hotmail.com and I’ll try to help.

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25. BY Anlir 10.03.07 AT 5:00 PM

    EYG,

    One option is to google the image you want.

    1. Right click on the image you want.

    2. Select “copy image location” (left click).

    3. Right click on the empty URL line in Gravatar, and select “paste”.

    4. Choose “next” and see if it will take the image. Some images will not work. I had to try several times before I found one that worked.

    5. Follow the remaining steps. Gravatar asked me if the image was “G”, “PG”, etc. I chose “G” because I assume it is.

    I’m sure there are other ways of doing it. That’s just the way I did it without any help or particular knowledge.

    Of course it remains to be seen if what I did actually works…(it seems to have though).

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26. BY Ivan the Terrible 10.03.07 AT 5:05 PM

    Thanks for adding some ‘personality’ to our identities.

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27. BY Frank in Phoenix 10.03.07 AT 11:26 PM

    Gravatar check …

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28. BY Frank in Phoenix 10.03.07 AT 11:26 PM

    … nope, not yet!

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29. BY Peter L 10.03.07 AT 11:37 PM

    …Thus sayeth Shelley the Web Diva…

    Is there some rule about female IT personnel being named “Shelley” or its variants? The IT person at the school where I teach is Shelly.
    Like my gravatar? That is not how I look, by the way. But I often feel that way in the morning (I also do not own any bunny slippers.)

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30. BY VS 10.04.07 AT 4:58 AM

    Ok, which is it and what’s the difference?

    Gravatar or avatar?

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31. BY P.Pat 10.04.07 AT 5:42 AM

    Thanks for the tips Lynn.

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32. BY Mark Roth 10.04.07 AT 8:06 AM

    Could it be — after two or three days — that my avatar will show up now?

    Maybe.

    Lemme see….

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33. BY Mark Roth 10.04.07 AT 8:07 AM

    Well, waddle yew no. Dare yam!

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34. BY Amphipolis 10.04.07 AT 8:36 AM

    Testing – I set mine yesterday and haven’t seen it yet – the Lion of Amphipolis

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35. BY Amphipolis 10.04.07 AT 8:38 AM

    Kennethos -

    You have got to get that chameleon circuit fixed

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36. BY kBells 10.04.07 AT 9:00 AM

    The Web Diva further pronounceth: Our site will only accept G- or PG-rated avatars, so be sure yours isn’t racy.

    So Lightening McQueen or Dale Earnhart would be unacceptable?;-)

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37. BY Anlir 10.04.07 AT 9:04 AM

    This is a test of the Anlir Broadcast System…

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38. BY Anlir 10.04.07 AT 9:05 AM

    Yeah! It works!

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39. BY Kevin 10.04.07 AT 10:05 AM

    Thank you!

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40. BY Derek 10.04.07 AT 10:25 AM

    Testing…

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41. BY dad dog 10.05.07 AT 4:31 PM

    testing . . .

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