Mary, of what history do you speak? Did something horrible happen on FT with avatars in the past?

And although it's not "so important", I will say I do enjoy looking at avatars. I think it adds rather than takes away from the forums.

In general, I like having options rather than restrictions, and I consider this, one of the more mature and responsible (as well as interesting and fun) forums I visit, the ideal place to give users more options rather than restrictions when it comes do this kind of stuff.

What do you think?