I agree with alanw. I'm a moderator, and I would choose not to view avatars. There's no problem with this. If someone contacted me saying they thought an avatar was questionable, I'd look at it, then go back to not looking at them. Suggesting that moderators would have to look at all avatars all the time only works if we also suggest that all moderators have to read all posts in their forums.

ETA: and before I get added to a poll in which I haven't participated, I'm NOT in favour of avatars. Far from it. But I am in favour of members having the option to have an avatar, providing other users have the option of not viewing them. I would further suggest that the default setting is not to view avatars - so that they wouldn't be visible to lurkers or people viewing FT without logging in.