Gravatars
For the last week, you may have noticed little pictures in the comments section. They are called avatars, and they’re hosted by a service called Gravatar.
If you’d like one, you can register and upload an image.1 It’s free and painless. Conveniently, the same picture will show up any blog that uses the Gravatar system, which will likely be a growing number, since the Wordpress.com folks just bought the company.
I debated for several weeks whether or not to use them. Avatars feel a little social-networky, which this site certainly isn’t. But we get a lot of comments — sometimes 80+ — and being able to put a “face” with a name helps a lot. Also, I tend not to remember the names of people who post, but with photos, frequent commenters stand out.
The gravatars are a trial-basis thing. A couple of weeks from now, I might switch them off if I find they’re more annoying than useful. But feel free to use this comment thread to test them out, and offer any opinion on the issue.
- Note that it sometimes takes a few minutes for newly-uploaded images to show up, so don’t panic if it doesn’t register right away. ↩
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October 30th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Here’s an example of my “brad” gravatar.
October 30th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Just tried it out . . . seems cool, let’s see if my picture comes up.
October 30th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Nope, not yet!
October 30th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Cool!
October 30th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
One more time . . .
October 30th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
You don’t need to post multiple times, Joshua (or anyone). Because of the way Gravatars work, once the system catches on that you’ve uploaded one, it automatically appears in the old posts as well.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Nothing like a tiny shot of a big head.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
I actually do look like a demonic head in a mushroom cloud over a ‘72 Mustang Mach II. That’s why I didn’t try going into acting.
October 31st, 2007 at 6:09 am
Fun new toys!
October 31st, 2007 at 9:41 am
the test run
October 31st, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Is this thing on?
October 31st, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Well, That’s a cool thing to have. I often wonder about the faces behind the posts; not that Screenwriting blogs are amongst the more “traveled of blogs.” I guess the seven of us will get all of those nuggets of wisdom.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Okay here we go
October 31st, 2007 at 3:46 pm
So now you can see my face, not just my words, telling you “Thanks!” for all the helpful advice. By the way, congrats on “The Nines”!
October 31st, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I’ve been using Gravatars for quite a while,… I should re-add that function to my weblog again. Thanks for reminding me. You’re a real web geek! I like that G
October 31st, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Hey, I’m truly sorry about Heroes: Origins’ cancellation. You must be terribly disappointed.
November 1st, 2007 at 1:54 am
I think this Gravatar thing is a great idea.
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:05 am
weeeeee :-D