Are there any plans to allow us to add our own avatars (aka user icons)?
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Nope, they are very much against it, with good reason. I do hope they add more avatar images. :-)
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I'm sorry, I wasn't very clear, my bad.
The reasons they like it how it is.
-users might try to use something offensive in some way or just in bad taste.
-It adds another layer for the webteam to police and enforce.
-the current model allows them to advertise their products as every image provides it's source.
-their art is really, really, really good, it makes sense to want to show it off and use it as much as possible.
Hope that's clearer then my previous post. :-)
Also if I'm wrong, anyone can feel free to correct me. :-)
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The problem with user-added avatars in one sentence:
DUCKS EVERYWHERE except not ducks.
Also, to expand upon what Cpt. Tomorrow said: intellectual property rights issues. That's why most big companies allow you to choose from a pre-determined stock of avatars on their forums.
Didn't Wizards of the Coast allow it for their forums (when they still had forums at least)?
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Except, they eliminated the message boards to save money.
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There's also the consideration that the current avatars lend a stylistic consistency to the site that is... rare. As much as I like Megan Fox bent over Bumblebee, I don't really want to see that on an RPG forum. We all know that the moment custom avatars are permitted, that's the kind of thing we'll see (and worse).
Same thing goes for in-line picture embedding and signatures. No thank you.
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I understand all the good reasons for not allowing custom avatars, but you people seem to imply that sites that allow them are a complete mess. This is really not the case. EN World allows them and there are no issues.
Now, I'm sure that a company such as Paizo needs to be more careful that EN World about IP violations against other companies. The points about stylistic uniformity and showing their own very good art are also very valid.
So, many good reasons for Paizo to keep things the way they are, but let's not go overboard and imply that allowing custom avatars is such a mess...
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I understand all the good reasons for not allowing custom avatars, but you people seem to imply that sites that allow them are a complete mess. This is really not the case. EN World allows them and there are no issues.
Now, I'm sure that a company such as Paizo needs to be more careful that EN World about IP violations against other companies. The points about stylistic uniformity and showing their own very good art are also very valid.
So, many good reasons for Paizo to keep things the way they are, but let's not go overboard and imply that allowing custom avatars is such a mess...
ENworld doesn't have to worry about many things which Paizo has to mind. For starters, ENworld is based in the UK, meaning it can pretty much not care about lawsuits from the United States, so somebody posting an IP-violating image is not that big of a problem for EN.
For second, it is not much of a business with a store, and thus can ignore the threat of some Coalition for Religious Decency phone and email-bombing their customer service line because little Lily from Utah saw a duck on the forum.
For third, ENworld uses community-based moderation, which Paizo cannot really do. So if policing avatars and images becomes a headache for ENworld, all Morrus needs to do is to issue a passionate call for volunteers and dozens of fans will flock to his aid. Whereas Paizo needs to hire a new person or drop even more work on Liz and Chris.
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I understand all the good reasons for not allowing custom avatars, but you people seem to imply that sites that allow them are a complete mess. This is really not the case. EN World allows them and there are no issues.
Now, I'm sure that a company such as Paizo needs to be more careful that EN World about IP violations against other companies. The points about stylistic uniformity and showing their own very good art are also very valid.
So, many good reasons for Paizo to keep things the way they are, but let's not go overboard and imply that allowing custom avatars is such a mess...
ENworld doesn't have to worry about many things which Paizo has to mind. For starters, ENworld is based in the UK, meaning it can pretty much not care about lawsuits from the United States, so somebody posting an IP-violating image is not that big of a problem for EN.
For second, it is not much of a business with a store, and thus can ignore the threat of some Coalition for Religious Decency phone and email-bombing their customer service line because little Lily from Utah saw a duck on the forum.
For third, ENworld uses community-based moderation, which Paizo cannot really do. So if policing avatars and images becomes a headache for ENworld, all Morrus needs to do is to issue a passionate call for volunteers and dozens of fans will flock to his aid. Whereas Paizo needs to hire a new person or drop even more work on Liz and Chris.
Yes, this is basically what I wrote...
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Sorry, no plans for this! However, the addition of new avatars is creeping up my list of things to do :)
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Didn't Wizards of the Coast allow it for their forums (when they still had forums at least)?
YES.
AND NOW THEY'RE DEAD.
COINCIDENCE?
Except, they eliminated the message boards to save money.
Except it wasn't to save money. It was to ignore the massive groundswell against 4th edition. They can restart their message boards now that they have a decent product.
Smurfs are more free with their product than Hasbro. That's why the MLP characters will never appear as Avatar choices.
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Except, they eliminated the message boards to save money.Except it wasn't to save money. It was to ignore the massive groundswell against 4th edition. They can restart their message boards now that they have a decent product.
WotC forums were closed less than a year ago, so it had nothing to do with 4th edition.
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WotC forums were closed less than a year ago, so it had nothing to do with 4th edition.Except, they eliminated the message boards to save money.Except it wasn't to save money. It was to ignore the massive groundswell against 4th edition. They can restart their message boards now that they have a decent product.
And now BioWare is closing theirs. Shifting fan interaction to social media is a trend, and while between PFS and general anti-tech sentiment of the fanbase the Paizo forums will last a few years longer, I believe we won't be posting here in 5 years tops.
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And now BioWare is closing theirs. Shifting fan interaction to social media is a trend, and while between PFS and general anti-tech sentiment of the fanbase the Paizo forums will last a few years longer, I believe we won't be posting here in 5 years tops.WotC forums were closed less than a year ago, so it had nothing to do with 4th edition.Except, they eliminated the message boards to save money.Except it wasn't to save money. It was to ignore the massive groundswell against 4th edition. They can restart their message boards now that they have a decent product.
Paizo has a web store, and the forums help to drive traffic to that web store. I don't see them leaving so quickly.
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Paizo has a web store, and the forums help to drive traffic to that web store. I don't see them leaving so quickly.
Hmm, they could integrate the store into the social network within a few years.
Speaking of integrating: I wouldn't switch to a social network. I'd rather enrich the forum with cherry-picked features from such platforms. So it develops in small steps (much easier to handle) and customers don't get lost because of the transition.
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Paizo has a web store, and the forums help to drive traffic to that web store. I don't see them leaving so quickly.Hmm, they could integrate the store into the social network within a few years.
That's the year Paizo loses me as a customer. Not hyperbole.
I'm an IT guy, so it's not technophobia or illiteracy. It's that when I elect to deal with Company A, I expect I am dealing with only Company A. Shifting anything into social media has inevitable data leakage. That's how they pay their bills.
Now, I can tolerate light integration, for instance allowing PayPal as a payment method. But the day I need to visit Facebook to discuss Pathfinder is the day I stop discussing Pathfinder.
If marketing demographics have value, they have value to me. I choose to keep that data where and when I can. It's sort of like savings.
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That's the year Paizo loses me as a customer. Not hyperbole.
I'm an IT guy, so it's not technophobia or illiteracy. It's that when I elect to deal with Company A, I expect I am dealing with only Company A. Shifting anything into social media has inevitable data leakage. That's how they pay their bills.
Now, I can tolerate light integration, for instance allowing PayPal as a payment method. But the day I need to visit Facebook to discuss Pathfinder is the day I stop discussing Pathfinder.
If marketing demographics have value, they have value to me. I choose to keep that data where and when I can. It's sort of like savings.
You know that that is simply not true. When you come to Paizo.com, you aren't just dealing with Paizo. You're also dealing with your Internet Service Provider. You're dealing with the company that develops your browser. You're dealing with the company that produces your operating system (and yes, both Linux and BSD get funding from corporations). The PRD uses jQuery, so if you use the PRD you are also dealing with the jQuery Foundation (and, by extension, the corporate members of the jQuery Foundation.) You're also dealing with GoDaddy, which authorizes SSL for the secure portions of Paizo's website (at least if w3techs is accurate.
That is in addition to all the companies that make different hardware components which make up the computer you are using to access this website.If you use Mozilla Firefox, then you are also sending telemetry data back to Mozilla. The same goes for most other browsers (including Chrome, MS Edge, and Safari.)
I'm not sure it was ever really possible to deal with "only Company A" over the internet. If it was possible at one time, though, that time has long since passed. You are using products from many, many different companies when you turn on your computer, boot...
I almost said that I think you missued his point, but I think you got his point then took it several steps in an oblique direction.
-Skeld
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I almost said that I think you missued his point, but I think you got his point then took it several steps in an oblique direction.
Technically correct is the best kind of correct.
<_<
>_>
{whispers:} Diabeetus.
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Hush up you! Or it's back to the sugar mines!
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You know that that is simply not true. When you come to Paizo.com, you aren't just dealing with Paizo. You're also dealing with your Internet Service Provider. You're dealing with the company that develops your browser. You're dealing with the company that produces your operating system (and yes, both Linux and BSD get funding from corporations). The PRD uses jQuery, so if you use the PRD you are also dealing with the jQuery Foundation (and, by extension, the corporate members of the jQuery Foundation.) You're also dealing with GoDaddy, which authorizes SSL for the secure portions of Paizo's website (at least if w3techs is accurate.
That is in addition to all the companies that make different hardware components which make up the computer you are using to access this website.If you use Mozilla Firefox, then you are also sending telemetry data back to Mozilla. The same goes for most other browsers (including Chrome, MS Edge, and Safari.)
I'm not sure it was ever really possible to deal with "only Company A" over the internet. If it was possible at one time, though, that time has long since passed. You are using products from many, many different companies when you turn on your computer, boot...
While the sentences you typed are correct, they don't address the issue. I'm fluent with the topics you brought up. You're just talking about something completely different. Understand, getting specific and technical isn't productive outside of technical discussions. Pitching one's comments to the audience is a thing.
My ISP isn't data-mining my IP traffic. I'm in Canada, and doing so is massively illegal here. In fact, virtually none of the layers you brought up involve personal data-mining. I run a moderate number of plugins which limit exposure 3rd-party cross-site reliance to javascript and so on. You might as well bring up video driver manufacturers, keyboard hardware manufacturers and so on.
I could get pedantic and point out things like: with DNS caching, my queries aren't sent up-stream beyond my ISP. But that's just more of the same... ignoring the point.
I don't participate in rewards programs, and points-cards and membership perks plans. I'm willing to not get the discounts, if it keeps the creepy profiles marketing is able to build on us even a moderate bit more addled. Sure, I'll shop Amazon and I know there's privacy leakage going on. There's just a difference between allowing 10% of the data-mining that could be done on me versus 100%.
The bottom line is that Facebook and Twitter and the like are openly privacy-unfriendly, and the day that Paizo relies on my usage of them is the day I stop. And you know that's the point, and you know it's the take-home Paizo should hear, even if they (likely eventually) disregard it, even if I'm somehow skipping over the technical truth that my traffic passes through a bunch of Cisco and Juniper (and larger) gear, all of which have been found to have critical flaws in them in the last... oh, day or two.
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I just hate Facebook and Twitter because I can.
While I don't mind poking in on an occasional feed, I absolutely won't sign up.
However, Paizo has repeatedly insisted they're against linking up with social media.
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I would just hate the loss of this community if we ever moved to social media. We all know it wouldn't be the same, right?
Sometimes I wish Paizo would modernize its site more, but if keeping this site status quo means we never have to move to Facebook and lose what we've got here, that's a price I'm willing to pay. I love you guys. :)
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And we love you, too.
Someone call in the exterminator or a party of adventurers, there's kobolds on the loose.
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I believe we won't be posting here in 5 years tops.
:(
And I love you random citizens!
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There are way too many threads on this forum, and too many coming out at once. We have a clear case of Thread Bloat. Plus, new threads are always more powerful than old threads, giving us power creep. I think it's high time for Paizo to come out with a new edition of the Paizo.com forum.
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Moving to social-media-only isn't in the cards at the moment or foreseeable future. I have a laundry list of forum features gathered from staff, community members, and myself that I'd like to see happen, but it's a matter of balancing that with other projects in the hopper.
Also, we just added 700+ new avatars... >.>
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I hadn't noticed...
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I have a laundry list of forum features gathered from staff, community members, and myself that I'd like to see happen, but it's a matter of balancing that with other projects in the hopper.
D-did you just use the b-word?!? The end is nigh! Everyone knows what happens when you use that word....
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I have a laundry list of forum features gathered from staff, community members, and myself that I'd like to see happen, but it's a matter of balancing that with other projects in the hopper.D-did you just use the b-word?!? The end is nigh! Everyone knows what happens when you use that word....
*{hic}*
... sounds about time for a fourth fifth for me~! ...
*{hic}*
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That's the year Paizo loses me as a customer. Not hyperbole.
I'm an IT guy, so it's not technophobia or illiteracy. It's that when I elect to deal with Company A, I expect I am dealing with only Company A. Shifting anything into social media has inevitable data leakage. That's how they pay their bills.
Now, I can tolerate light integration, for instance allowing PayPal as a payment method. But the day I need to visit Facebook to discuss Pathfinder is the day I stop discussing Pathfinder.
If marketing demographics have value, they have value to me. I choose to keep that data where and when I can. It's sort of like savings.
You know that that is simply not true. When you come to Paizo.com, you aren't just dealing with Paizo. You're also dealing with your Internet Service Provider. You're dealing with the company that develops your browser. You're dealing with the company that produces your operating system (and yes, both Linux and BSD get funding from corporations). The PRD uses jQuery, so if you use the PRD you are also dealing with the jQuery Foundation (and, by extension, the corporate members of the jQuery Foundation.) You're also dealing with GoDaddy, which authorizes SSL for the secure portions of Paizo's website (at least if w3techs is accurate.
That is in addition to all the companies that make different hardware components which make up the computer you are using to access this website.If you use Mozilla Firefox, then you are also sending telemetry data back to Mozilla. The same goes for most other browsers (including Chrome, MS Edge, and Safari.)
I'm not sure it was ever really possible to deal with "only Company A" over the internet. If it was possible at one time, though, that time has long since passed. You are using products from many, many different companies when you turn on your computer, boot...
Not the same at all. I go to walmart to buy groceries. I have to get off my couch (made by haverty's) and open my electric garage door (craftman) and get in my truck (Dodge, powered mostly by QT fuel) and drive on the roads (Dept of Transportation, Department of Public Safety) To get to walmart. I am prepared to take those steps. But if I get to Walmart and they require me to use their new 3rd party payment platform that wants to know all of my casual acquaintances and their email addressed and wants my permission to tell them about how I just used FaceCheck to buy bananas at walmart; then I'm gonna be pissy about the addition of this new party into the situation.
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I have a laundry list of forum features gathered from staff, community members, and myself that I'd like to see happen, but it's a matter of balancing that with other projects in the hopper.D-did you just use the b-word?!? The end is nigh! Everyone knows what happens when you use that word....
ಠ_ಠ
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Is making Paizo.com somewhat more friendly for mobile device users anywhere on the table? I mean, using my fingertip to hunt for elusive pixels is a skill which helps in ... many ... other ... real-life situations, but I am painfully aware that as my sight and muscles deteriorate over the years, this is not going to get any easier.
Off topic, how about creating a competitor for Facebook. Selling identities for spammers is a bad business model. There's a need for a product. You and all business partners will sell PDFs and other direct products. You respect peoples anonymity, and personal security.
On topic. I think a suggestion thread for avatars to be added to the rotation makes more sense.
On topic. I think a suggestion thread for avatars to be added to the rotation makes more sense.
I have a laundry list of forum features gathered from staff, community members, and myself that I'd like to see happen, but it's a matter of balancing that with other projects in the hopper.D-did you just use the b-word?!? The end is nigh! Everyone knows what happens when you use that word....
Gah! "Balance"? "Balancing" Paizo's forums will just turn them into a Hasbro messageboards clone!
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There is no "real quick" on that one, sadly. I imagine the forum staff have a helluva backlog, so I'm not trying to throw shade on them, but the call for SF avatars has been going since it launched, and still no word on a timeline for them. I just gave up and slapped my shirren mystic with an ankheg for his picture. He's not winning any beauty contests, but it was either that or a seagull.
I may end up swapping to the seagull anyway, in protest. Ankhegs are really really ugly.
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I also want for Skeld to choose everyone's avatar.
- Elvis Presley.