Hey folks, an idea for something we could do on this board crossed my mind the other day and now I'm eager to know what my fellow Trek BBS posters think about it. And please be nice to me, as I'm not prepared for my idea to be shot down. 
I like to think of this whole site as a true community. Now, I know that many here despise the mere thought of social networking sites. And really, I do, too. If it wasn't for my band's MySpace profile I'd probably not come anywhere near MySpace. But I found that this board can serve similar functions. Granted, I don't know everyone around here. Hell, I don't even like everyone. But I found many posters that I like and a few I now consider friends. Well, and I think that is a wonderful thing!
However, I was thinking about a way to celebrate the thought of this site as a community. I often found that many posters (myself included) use avatars to (visually) define themselves around here. And just think about it, many times you don't even have to read people's screen name to recognize them; you already know them by their avatar. I know I do. I got this idea when I witnessed a conversation in another thread the other day where one poster found it questionable that another used a picture of himself as his avatar. This had me thinking how many of us (kind of) hide behind funky avatar images. And I don't mean this to sound disdainful. That's basically why I use avatars, too. Because you can show off your interests. But what if only for once we would show ourselves?
So, finally, here's my idea: What if for one week we all try to use just an image of ourself as an avatar? Wouldn't that be nice? Wouldn't that make our posts even more personal? We'd get to know each other more. And these avatars wouldn't even have to be simple portrays. You could be creative! You could do virtually everything you'd like. Have you seen J. Allen's current avatar, for example? That's what I'm talking about. I'd love to see you all in your avatars. Even if just for one week.
So, what do y'all think? Is this even feasible? Any suggestion for improvements? Am I an idiot?
I like to think of this whole site as a true community. Now, I know that many here despise the mere thought of social networking sites. And really, I do, too. If it wasn't for my band's MySpace profile I'd probably not come anywhere near MySpace. But I found that this board can serve similar functions. Granted, I don't know everyone around here. Hell, I don't even like everyone. But I found many posters that I like and a few I now consider friends. Well, and I think that is a wonderful thing!
However, I was thinking about a way to celebrate the thought of this site as a community. I often found that many posters (myself included) use avatars to (visually) define themselves around here. And just think about it, many times you don't even have to read people's screen name to recognize them; you already know them by their avatar. I know I do. I got this idea when I witnessed a conversation in another thread the other day where one poster found it questionable that another used a picture of himself as his avatar. This had me thinking how many of us (kind of) hide behind funky avatar images. And I don't mean this to sound disdainful. That's basically why I use avatars, too. Because you can show off your interests. But what if only for once we would show ourselves?
So, finally, here's my idea: What if for one week we all try to use just an image of ourself as an avatar? Wouldn't that be nice? Wouldn't that make our posts even more personal? We'd get to know each other more. And these avatars wouldn't even have to be simple portrays. You could be creative! You could do virtually everything you'd like. Have you seen J. Allen's current avatar, for example? That's what I'm talking about. I'd love to see you all in your avatars. Even if just for one week.
So, what do y'all think? Is this even feasible? Any suggestion for improvements? Am I an idiot?
