So it's been a few weeks since
the poll opened and I've been keeping an eye on the results. No one else has put a vote down in the last week and the results are pretty clear.
80% of respondents are in favor of some type of avatar while 20% either would like HLP to remain avatar-less for non-admins or just don't care. While I think we all recognize that HLP is not in any way a democracy, I think the poll shows that the members of HLP do not feel as strongly for the "admin-only avatar" tradition any longer. I mean you can see the shift from kara and Battuta having anti-avatar comments that Goober quoted to the pro-avatar comments they have now as further proof. A good number of forum veterans have voiced support for having them too.
Now I don't think avatars will bring HLP any sort of new found prosperity, but it certainly won't kill HLP, or turn things for the worse. HLP will still be HLP, just maybe a little more colorful. (And they are so easy to turn off if you don't like them, you can even turn them off right now if you like (Forum Profile, Look and Layout, Don't Show Users Avatars))
If we're talking about traditions and being unique about them, I just don't think this uniqueness of avatars to admins is all that... great. A majority of forums allow them, and so while the fact that we restrict it to the highest level of staff may be
unique, it's just not something that's all that
interesting. It just benefits 8 people and that exclusivity doesn't add a lot to the general culture.
(What I think
is interesting
and unique is our project badge system. It benefits a larger number of people and if you asked me what are some of the things that makes HLP unique, I'd instantly go with that. That's an HLP tradition I would digitally give my life for.)
So I'd like to propose, that when HLP does its server switcharoo/upgrade, we celebrate by opening up the avatar gates for everyone.