I don't usually spend much time pondering the meanings of someones avatar, probably because I myself don't put much thought into my avatar. Didn't upload one on MTS for years, and that's usually how I am on forums. If I do upload an avatar, it's always of my dog Idefix, also known as the lasergoat. I use a picture of him because it makes me smile when I see it. Even more so since he died, any little reminder of him and the joy he brought to my life is welcome. Plus I suppose it has the benefit of suggesting to others that I love animals.

I do find it interesting to hear the reasons behind someones avatar, if there's a story and a deeper meaning behind it, I'm just not that likely to guess on my own.

Damn, you just made me nostalgic for the loch ness monster that used to pop up in Sims 1 neighbourhoods. Why didn't they bring that to Sims 2?

I only judge people if they have a human looking avatar. If they have a female avatar I'll presume they're female and vice versa. The same with names; I still have trouble thinking of marka as a male because of that a.

I just thought you blended into the background, being blue and all.

*shrugs* I just thought they were all meant to be cute. Admittedly, I was using my avatar for something else before I started hanging out on MTS.

Well, I am cute-cuddly, not. If you tried to cuddle me, you'd probably hear me shriek-I'm very small .As for Coca Cola, used to drink that when I was younger. I'm now a Sunkist addict. Anything with orange flavoring.
As for a back story about my avi there is one..but it's boring.
I've always liked Peni's avi-but never assumed it was of her or anyone in her life. Just thought it was from her game.

I never assume any avi is directly related to a person-they're usually put up to show that the person exists as a human being. Bots do not have avi's, and that's why they exist in the first place. How do I know this? Twitter. They only show avi's of real people in the threads, and if you see of one a faceless 'egg' or blank one, it's a bot.

What's wrong...she not scary looking enough?

Not only is she a TS3 sim, everything on her is EA made. She was sitting in front of a fire pit reading a book when this screenshot was taken.

Well, she doesn't look like she's a cousin of the Pillsbury Doughboy.

I love the sun. To feel the warmth, to see everything brighten up, to feel brightened up. It's so big and elusive and yet so small in the sky. I love how it's color changes in the morning and evening. I totally get why the ancients worshipped the sun.

Rosebine I thought you were kissing someone.
Peni I used to think those two were both male and you were not only black, but also gay.

I always figured that an avatar was meant to represent someone in some way. *looks at her own avatar lol* It bugs me when people on Facebook put their kids as their avatar; it's supposed to be a picture of you, not your kid.

Mine's a cropped photo of the clouds near my place from one evening. I'd like to hear any assumptions that it may have caused. I'll update it sometime though as I feel that it is so out of place.

The original photo looks almost like waves crashing onto a beach.

Wait, those are clouds? I thought they were mountains!

Nope, bi is a totally different thing. And the one on the left is Sage Ann (Onions) Munny, slow dancing with Ernest Munny on the right - my favorite couple, and the ones who showed me exactly how individuated and strong-willed sims can be.

I also consider it an invasion of privacy. The kids didn't exactly give consent for you to put up dozens of pics of them (sometimes embarrassing ones). Politics in a few decades is going to be really interesting.

I heard some put their parents in coart for that once they grew up. Ouch for the karma!

I assume if I see a cat avatar, that person likes cats. Jo, cankritty, smorbi all come to mind as people with cat avatars. I am on mobile now so I can't double check. I assumed FranH lived in a cold place. I assume whoward69 really likes minions. People with actual sims as their avatars I assume is their self sim or their favorite sim.

Mine is just a pic I had when I joined MTS back in the day and I photoshopped a plumbbob over my head - to show how much I liked the game. So aprops. I don't look like that anymore, though.

You do to us, Charm!

It's my understanding that it's just plain unwise to post your kid's pictures all over the internet. Though cyberspace is not quite as thick with pedophiles as it is in many people's paranoid imaginings, those who are here can be expected to go victim shopping for kids in their geographical vicinity; and then there's the dangers of cyberbullying from other kids, many with photoshop skills. It's easy to extract pictures off the net, and do you really want to see your child immortalized in an unkind meme? I don't think so.

I still wig about that. I have a cousin who once put a picture of us as children on his facebook. He loved it and didn't mean any harm. But there's a reason I don't want my face out there and I had to ask my mother to ask him to please crop me out of it.

I am a turtle IRL.

You type very well. Do you have a special flipper keyboard?

I think what you can tell about mine is... I'm too lazy to upload an avatar :P

I wear glasses, but that's all I have in common with my avatar. I was originally going to use a picture of a female grand vampire with a strange expression on her face, but then I saw this old picture of Seeder Vood in the same folder and got all sentimental about him. He wasn't my first sim, but he certainly made some interesting children!

My avatar is a picture of a not very favourite Sim throwing a hissy fit due to Simorexia: You know how it goes:
- I have six cooking skill points earned by making meals for my family!
- I am standing in my fully equipped kitchen!
- Next to my fully stocked fridge!
- You are doing nothing to prevent me from using these!
- I AM STARVING TO DEATH, HOW COULD YOU BE SO CRUEL!

I was so annoyed, I snapped a picture and left her to sort it out herself or die. I liked the drama of the picture though, so I posted it. Plus, I wish I had that dress.

Really interesting post. I definitely associate people and their postings with their avatars; I always notice them and often like to take a closer look at them, especially when they're Sims related (e.g AndrewGloria's and Peni's). I always love knowing the story behind people's Sim-related avatars! I'm glad to read some in this thread.
Like Peni, I also find them reasonably interesting, especially because I'm nosy and fascinated with people in general so always appreciate a slightly closer look at whoever is behind the screen.
So I probably do make assumptions, but mainly things like "we find the same things amusing" or "this person probably likes this cartoon/game/franchise". I think I wonder more than assume though. I do sometimes wonder if anyone's noticed mine or associates it with me like I've do with theirs.

I always notice moomins.

Damn, I was going to make a similar post . I don't know why I never uploaded an avatar, as that's usually one of the first things I do on joining a forum. I don't really make assumptions based on someone's avatar, except that they might possibly be fans of a certain thing. Though it does occasionally get disorienting if someone changes up their avatar, if they've had a particular one for a while, as I have to get used to associating their new 'face' with their username.