I count 324 posts on this so far. During well over two YEARS! It started when I was on Talkboard, and has got nowhere fast in the past year.

Re-writing the US Constitution would take less words.

Can I suggest that someone on TB put forward the following two motion(s) and see if it gets a seconder.

If not lock this thread. This totally minor and trivial matter has been dragging on for an eternity as Cholula mentions above. No-one's fault personally, but it needs some action or closure.

I move that Flyertalk enables personal member avatars.

I move that FlyerTalk adopts extra - and animated - smileys/emoticons

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So someone on TB please - either make a motion on these. or if no-one will second it, simply have this thread closed, as you are clearly not interested in moving on this.

Even if the TB approves it, Randy as always has every right to ignore it, reject it, or flick pass it to his techies to look at further.

These range of outcomes do NOT stop Talkboard actually DOING something on such a ridiculously trivial suggestion.

These are incredibly minor matters in the big scheme of things at FT.

I do not think either need change, but the TB might have other ideas.

I get no vote in this, but I personally think the current set of 15 smileys is perfectly fine, and is certainly better than we had when I first started here.

Of the 15 the one I think gets abused the most is this one following, and FT would not be any the poorer if this one was removed or replaced -

I own an active BB myself, and personally like and encourage avatars, and indeed insist all members have them. That is not here.

However on FT I feel sure they would certainly be misused and abused - as other "enhanced" member features in the past were misused and abused, by a tiny trouble making segment of FT members.

Those members included some VERY senior current members, who may well not want to be reminded of their deliberate mischief that caused this feature to be removed from all members.

Randy I can bet remembers those members involved, and I am sure also remembers he needed to disable that feature due to the trouble they caused and the massive food fight they caused.

I am referring here to the "Reputation" feature, and leaving negative - and visible "dings" for other FT members they disliked. 'Gang-banging' certain members in a very orchestrated pattern to drive down their "Reputation" rating.

(Full disclosure I never left any ratings for anyone, and turned off my 'Reputation' feature the moment it was announced, as I could smell it would cause a riot down the track knowing what some FT'ers enjoy doing.)

Which was a terrific little disruptive 'game' for some here, when it was hidden, but then Randy blew their cover by making them all public with no announcement - so all could see left "negatives".. and WHEN - and for whom.

As Randy pointed out earlier in this thread, even the current smileys can be abused by members if they wish to make a point: