I forget all the time that people are NOT their avatars!

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Is this an Aspie thing? I do remind myself once in a while that an avatar is a person's choice of an avatar and not a photo of themselves, but when I'm not consciously reminding myself I tend to forget and see the person as their avatar.

Eg: I usually think that Spokane_Girl is a cowgirl, Hovis a mouse, ManErg a donkey, etc. It never occurred to me, for example, that Warsie may NOT have afro hair and walk dancing all the time... That Hartzofspace may not be a fairy, that Sartresue may not have a caricature face in black and white, etc. I always think that KingdomOfRats has a black-and-white cat's face, and that Postperson writes her post on a laptop under a tree branch in a very uncomfortable sitting position.

Does this happen to you sometimes?

Not quite to that degree, but I do tend to assume that people are the same gender as their avatars, and it's often a false assumption.

(Colosseum here. )

This happens to me too, like if a male member has a picture of a girl as their avatar, I forget they are actually male.

Lol... now that you mention it, I just came to think of "Postperson". xD

Okay Greentea, now ye've done it. Yer makin' me verily revert backwise ta college mode nowhence!

* Suddenwise, a firebird with red, black, and gold feathers swoops fastly through the lack of air outside WrongPlanet's atmosphere, face turning blue from holding her breath. On meeting the air, the phoenix lets out a raspy pterodactyl-like shriek. Wings poised for grand-entrance landing, realizes late that nobody opened the window so gyrates around suchlike ta enter the chamber of Wrong Planet talons firstly. Glass breaks inta smithereens, shards fly in all direckitions, people duck, run, hide, stare in amazement, ore reackit as suits their preferaunce ... *

YYAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHH! How be yerselves this chamdy day, dudes-n-dudettes, and especialwise Greentea?!?

Now whenivair I be visualatin' howe yerself lookes mefriend Greentea, verily it be more like seein' ye as yer name rather than yer avatar. And wonderin' howe much green tea it takes ta start lookin' that way? I pickiture soft light pale green skin, matching delicate dark hair with a greenish tinge, emerald eyes, and gossamer robes ... white-tinged mint green with perchance a belt of gold, and light gold slippers that gleam in the sun.

So like, howe be that image, eh? * good-natured grin *

* the emfi firebird flaps leisurely around the room, picking stray shards of glass from her feathers with her beak, looking thiswise and that ta see where be a chandelier ta roost on ta get more comfortable *

GRRRRR!!"! !! !"#¤ thats who i am!! !!"# TOTAL FURY ANGER RAGE"! !#

Function of the avatar topic

We humans are symbolic creatures, and many aspies are visual thinkers, so this is a way of remembering who the person is.

I never heard of avatars until I joined WP, and i did not get one until I reached 1000 posts (my choice).

So what do i really look like? I wear gold rimmed oval shaped glasses, have shoulder length grey-brown hair parted down the left side, hazel eyes, a heart shaped face, a few wrinkles
around my mouth consistent with age (I am 54). I am of average weight and height. I would not stand out in the crowd. I have no idea how to get a pic of me on the internet. I think it has to be scanned, or uploaded. My first name is Sue (Susan). My last name starts with G and is quite common.

Greentea, I am glad you are not a bull in a china shop. But if I met you, I would probably still call you Greentea!

When people have pictures of humans I tend to think the picture might be the person unless it's a celebrity or something. Sometimes I think it's a guy with a woman's picture if I read a few posts or it says in the profile it's a "male". If I am not sure, sometimes, I ask.

As for other avatars that are non human. I think it says something about the person. KOR's says she likes really cute cats because the cat in the picture looks especially happy and cute.

Spokane's is a pic from Benny And Joon so when I see hers I think she can somewhat identify with Joon and wishes she had a friend like Benny. Or maybe she alreay has her own Benny and likes to be reminded when she sees her avatar.

With Hovis and the Hedgehog. I picture someone who likes gardens and being out in the yard, especially with little critters like rabbits, hedgehogs, and birds, squirrels too, if they have them in the British Isles. I never see squirrels when I see footage of England. I have a squirrel and a couple of birds in my yard who like to be near me especially when I am planting seed because they like the insects.

Your avatar, Greentea reminds me of someone who feels kind of awkward and uncomfortable in most situations, worries about what others are going to think, sorta like a bull in a China shop except a real bull probably wouldn't worry that much.

You know, when I see Warsie's avatar I do think of him looking like his avatar for some reason. I just picture him having that hair and walk but without the suit. The suit says that he might like to dress up, though.

I think avatars do say something about the one who has them.

Well, i am not a retired Mach 2+ STOL double delta Attack/Fighter jet (capable of pulling as much G's as a hypermodern fighter jet, and therefor should have not been retired)

I first was called "raggedy Ann" in Jr. High...years before I started collecting them. Weird mis-matched clothes and "raggedy" hair that was reddish from using Sun-In on very dark brunette hair.
I am far more likely to associate people with their avatars than imagine what they might actually be like as people. Often if people change their avatars, I will no longer recognize them. I sometimes use a real picture of me as an avatar...it has been a while though.

Flakey uses my avatar picture here as the Super Happy Fun Land avatar on twitter....that sorta confuses me.

At the moment, my avatar is a male Lego character. I'm female. I chose this little guy because he's special to me, and there are no female Lego people who represent me as well.

I don't think I'd want to put up a picture of myself. I'm rather hideous, for one thing. Also, having a picture of something that I care about is almost a bit too "exposed" for my taste. I don't think I'd be comfortable with a picture of ME on the internet. I don't even own any pictures of myself. If people think of me as being this little guy, that's fine.

In my case it's accurate. I'm invisible.

I am my avatar

That's why to reduce confusion, I use my own picture.

It's hard for me to disconnect an avatar from a poster when the avatar doesn't closely represent the person... or an idealized abstract version of the poster. Like when a male uses a female... it really throws me off guard.

I'm pretty visual, well I at least notice the patters in visual representation... and if avatars get changed to break an apparent pattern...it's a little unsettling.

Haha pretty funny, but it happens to me too , and as a wolf i command you to unlearn this behaviour

Oh common, i get to be on the next page again, is this some sort of spell? I always end up in the next page >.<