Why so many dark, foreboding, negative avatars?

Originally posted by screamo
Is my avatar considered dark?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

I'd wager that for 85-95% of all adults in our culture, that would be considered dark in some sense. Probably a higher percentage of women.

It's not as though one is screaming in that avatar over winning the megabucks lottery or in the midst of their most intense orgasm ever.

But I suspect you knew that already.

What was your objective with the avatar?

What feelings did you HOPE to elicit in the viewers?

What responses did you hope for?

What aspect of your life experiences most resonate with the image?

What do you feel most like screaming against?

What do you feel most like screamng for?

Who do you feel most like screaming against?

Who do you feel most like screaming for?

My question, OP, is why would you send 6 boys and 6 girls (in any grade) down a dark hallway with a sharp turn? Lemme cut to the chase, promoting teenage pregnancy is wrong, simply wrong

LOL.

Naw, of course, it was just a thought experiment to try and get folks to picture a situation where their avatar characters would be met full force by surprise in a slightly dark hemmed in situation . . . and then to imagine the results.

No youth were unvirginized in that thought experiment! LOL.

. . . at least . . . not in MY thoughts!

because we're all dark schizophrenic alchemist souls all just trying to figure out what the hell is going on

I made my avatar in 5 minutes. Don't waste your life trying to find its meaning.

reply to post by pluckynoonez


Welllllllll, Dear Heart, I don't remotely recall what the one was like that might have been construed as dark.

And I certainly can't remember your photo enough to give it the old personality read . . . though I think it's wise to remove real pics from the net . . . at least remotely current ones.

I am not familiar with the cartoon woman in your current avatar . . . However, here goes some quick responses to it . . .

--Intense eyes . . . kind of stern. Possibly fierce. Mouth set matches the eyes on those scores.

Sort of a carefree windblown determined look.

Probably wouldn't want to cross this woman if she were one's boss.

Might be mean in some contexts toward some sorts of characters.

Appears to be in some sort of military looking uniform.

Body posture appears somewhat aggressive.

"plucky'

I imagine so! LOL.

QUITE PLUCKY, I'd guess!

Am curious what hobbies you might have.

And what 3 things most attracted you to this image for your avatar?

What 2 personality traits do YOU consider, believe that you have that are most exemplified by this avatar?

Thanks much for your kind post.

Originally posted by darkelf
His head is bowed in mourning over the losses that I and many other have experienced.

Hmmm Very fascinating image.

For some reason, my mind has mostly kept turning the silhouette into some sort of bug, maybe a worm. I just now finally registered it as a sort of human head.

Interesting.

As long as there are losses, he will be in perpetual mourning. Although my avatar is male, I am female.

I'm not at all familiar with everquest. I prefer Chinese chess the half game on a board. Computere games have never held much attraction for some reason. There was an early one . . . STIX or some such--a kind of geometry turf marking off thing. I enjoyed that. But it had a tendency to crash the computers. Would love to find it again for the PC.

LOSS . . . . quite a heavy topic in itself.

Thankfully, the day is ahead for the Children of the Returning King when they shall never more experience loss.

How dark would I consider this avatar . . . hmmmm . . . . I guess moderately dark. Maybe -5 to +15 if -100 were totally dark and +100 were totally light.

I think the red and light blue lift it a bit.

LOSS . . . gads I don't want to remember some of the many wrenching loss periods I've been through.

Though I also don't want to be without the lessons they taught me.

Thanks for your kind post.

Mine isn't all that bad...except for the guy on the bottom of the pile.

reply to post by BO XIAN

About a year ago in my first visit to Second Life, the popular online virtual world, I spent half an hour trying to make my avatar, or online character, look like a hotter version of myself — which isn't easy when you don't know how to use the tools. When I finally made it onto Money Island to mingle, a stranger approached me and said, "Hello there, Devon." I froze. Then I tried to run. I was desperately searching for the teleport tool when my sister walked into the room, peered over my shoulder at the computer screen and said, "Why'd you make your avatar ugly?" I logged off.

i found it almost scary that he was identified by just his avatar.
although i dont have much experince with second life. i tried it for about 4 days when i heard about it on a radio add.

maybe this is another topic. but what are your thoughts on second life?

I think mine is the scariest of them all.

Really think about it.

There are so many foreboding av's because the world is 15%good and 85% bad.

That and it allows some creative expression.

Originally posted by BO XIAN
This is the psychologist in me speaking . . . Not sure if this is the right forum.

I'm interested in members' thoughts about why such a huge percentage of the avatars are

1. dark
2. foreboding
3. more than some plainly evil looking
4. dark, destructive warrior (vs a champion for a good cause type)
5. some decidedly tasteless sorts with tongues doing rather questionable things in pretty cheeky contexts
6. a general feeling of negative toned values
7. super strange and bizarre in ways that foster more discomfort than wonder
...

out of curiousity, why don't you even have an avatar? do you normally? did you remove it just for this discussion? and why the white background that so clashes with my theme? to stand out? just the psychologist in me wondering...

reply to post by BO XIAN



The reason for such dark and grim avatars on this site is because ATS is overwhelmingly a haven for left-wing liberals. And I am not knocking those on the left. It's just that I have seen evidence in the past that conservatives, or those on the right, are often far happier and have a far better outlook on life and the future than their counterparts do.

The general miserable outlook on life that is shared by so many on the left is more evident here because you can swing a dead cat and hit a liberal on ATS every single time. And when events such as Obama losing the election, drilling in ANWR, and the free world confronting the terrorist state of Iran take place, you will see the number of grumpy avatars on this site increase exponentially as the lefties drift further into a state of depression.

My avatar reflects what ATS is all about.....I think. Betty and Barney Hill R.I.P

[edit on 12-7-2008 by Tricky63]

reply to post by ~Lucidity


Heading to bed shortly. Just a quick reply from

the reviewing the end of the thread before bed

ritual . . .

I'm cheap. I have this fantasy of eventually earning over 100,000 pts.

And, boo hoo, they took away the points for tagging ancient threads . . . so I have to conserve.

Maybe when I get 155,000 points I'll buy an avatar. LOL.

Maybe Jesus will come first.

If I had an avatar, I'd probably put some pic of some of my pottery up.

Or some flower or tree or mountain pic I'd taken.

Or maybe something from Palo Soleri's Arcosanti archetecture.

Or something Chinese.

I'm an old foggy, after all.

Thanks for your kind post.

reply to post by BO XIAN


What? I thought avatars were free? Not that it bothers me either way but someone needs to let me know because I want to start charging 10K points a pop.

Just teasing. But they are free, Bo. You don't have to buy them with points anymore.

reply to post by AshleyD


Hmmmmmmmm

Not only am I an old foggy, I'm behind the times????

Dear me.

So, one just comes up with one and posts it and doesn't lose any points?

Hmmmm Whatever will they think of next. Goodness. Now, I'll have to ponder it more seriously. As though I lacked for things to do.

I even have photoshop 6.X somewhere amidst all the CD's.

Welll . . . hmmmm ponder ponder.

Thanks for the info. And your inspiring personal avatar is a blessing to see even though pink is not one of my favorite colors. I particularly like the fish and cross thing. Beautiful. Love the texure.

I think texture is wonderful. I think I was fixated at the teddy bear stage.

I'm getting ridiculous. I should go to bed.

Blessings on Sunday for you and all you Love and in the coming week.

My avatar is from the movie "The Skeleton Key". To me, the image says: "I want to know what's on the other side of the scary locked door", and believe me... whatever is behind it... I'm not expecting it to be warm and fuzzy.

My avatar is the cover of a book a friend wrote. Check it out if you get a chance. It's a short, easy read and is important information.

[edit on 13-7-2008 by corusso]

Keep in mind that dark does not always mean evil or negative. It certainly does not mean either one of those things in my case.

I like dark avatars for the same reason that I like other dark things such as death metal music, horror movies, and dark fantasy novels. And for the same reason that I tend to dress in black clothes most of the time. I just have an easier time relating to all things dark and foreboding.

I really have quite a distaste for happy and fluffy stuff. Happy and fluffy stuff actually has an opposite affect on me. It doesn't put me in a good mood. It usually just pisses me off.

Some people assume that my attraction to the dark means that I'm an angry, hateful and miserable guy. But that is so not true. I'm actually a pretty nice guy and very much at peace with my surroundings. I am, however, very suspicious of the evil forces that seem to be closing their fist over our world. Perhaps that is where my penchant for the dark comes from.

Originally posted by andolin
reply to post by Rumrunner

 

Well it is listed as the number 1 "Conspiracy Theory" related website.
There is a dark implication and possible attraction. There appears to be plenty of
white lighters here so I wouldn't worry to much.

You know what..sometimes I think that's what bothers me me about this place.

I like dark avatars; I like pictures of myself as my avatar looking neutral. That way the attitude in my picture doesn’t throw off my post, but by seeing me you can get a feel for my personality more and put a face to the typing. I like it that way.