Originally Posted by JRF
The entire discussion is nonsense. If you don't want to look at avatars, go into MyFlyertalk and turn off the avatar feature. Once you turn it off, you won't see any avatars.
Thanks for your respect for differing viewpoints. My opinion was that it adds a cluttered look that isn't desirable
by default, regardless of the fact that it can be disabled. Remember, there are a lot of lurkers who don't register for whatever reasons: because they don't intend to post, for privacy... And people don't have time to register with every forum they ever visit, so the default appearance makes a first impression for better or for worse.