The Avatar Revolution
I am still looking into the mystery of why the avatars (monsterids) suddenly changed, but I really haven’t found out anything. So I’m basically just putting this one up to preserve the comments on the topic that would otherwise be deleted next week, with thanks to Cece for the hilarious title.
My search, though fruitless thus far, has been interesting, as it sometimes can be when you are trying to look up something and autocomplete has various suggestions on what it thinks you want to type.
I started out typing “why did my avatar change suddenly.” When I got as far as “why did my” autocomplete came up with these choices (among others) “why did my ex unblock me” and “why did my puppy throw up.” If you hit enter after typing in “why did my,” the top result is “why did my credit score drop” and here’s a couple of the related searches: “why did my cheesecake crack,” “why did my toenail fall off” and “why did my cupcakes sink.”
The results for my intended query produced what appears to me to be site-specific problems.
So far, the only solutions we’ve come up with are:
You would actually be registering your email with wordpress.com but they explain that to you. If you already have a wordpress.com account, you use that to sign in. Then you can upload the image of your choice or link to it if it is already online.
The second solution is to use a different email for your comments if you don’t like the new one you got.
I updated the post to put in the right sign up link where folks can upload their own avatar once they register.
It is actually on gravatar.com but they give you a wordpress profile. No wonder it’s confusing
Rise Fikklefamers, Rise!
Autocomplete… the same reason why these suggestions show up (from typing what comes before the three dots):
Why are… cats afraid of cucumbers
How long… is finding dory
Is the… earth flat
And so forth.
@Rhonda, all that means is you can’t use the name Rhonda for your username on wordpress.com. It won’t change your ability to use just Rhonda on here.
Rhonda that is taken is probably attached to your already registered email.
You can just put Rhonda63 (just an example, use any 2 or more numbers after that) over there. Then fix your profile. After that, just using the email that has an avatar should work.
Thanks, VJ. I shall give it one more try.
I give up, I tried Rhonda17 and it still wouldn’t allow me to sign in.
Thanks for all of your help, VJ.
I see the new you now. Hahaha
I mean you curly-haired green monster. This is the most comments I’ve seen during the Summer hiatus. WordPress ruined everything! Or whoever started all this.
Rhonda, don’t worry; we still love you—palm tree sprouting out of head and all.
Exactly… it’s not about the avatar, but rather about the words coming from it…
Gee Mathwiz, are you saying that because you really don’t like the four avatars you have tried?
Thanks, Cece and Mathwiz. I wonder what Jacob’s will look like?
You haven’t seen Jacob’s? Ugly as sin.
LOL, Cece. I’m sitting here laughing at your description of Jacob’s avi and the cat came running through the room like a lunatic and my daughter thought I was laughing at the cat.
Anyway, ha ha ha. Jacob’s new avi isn’t THAT bad though the eye color kind of makes it look like it has a hangover.
No, I haven’t seen Jacob’s yet, Ceci. It certainly can’t be any worse than mine!
VJ, yeah, I forgot: ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ And this beholder here is merciless, hence the demonic potato they assigned me.
I bet you never imagined this change of avatars could generate so many comments; hope Jacob has a chance to see these before they’re deleted—he won’t believe his eyes.
Rhonda, you’re right; you certainly won the prize for ‘The most ghastly Avatar’—I know, I’m not helping, hehe. Btw, you can see Jacob’s by clicking on the link beneath the FJ clue above: “click here if you want to read that recap.”
May I offer a suggestion if you want to give wordpress another try? What if you get a new email (or if you have another one, different from the one you use here), then create an account at wordpress and create yourself a new avatar. (Note that if you just use a new email to log in in here, a different monstrous thing will be assigned to you as an avatar.)
VJ, correct me if I’m wrong above.
No corrections to your suggestion, Cece. I just thought you were referring to the avatars when you said you hope Jacob gets a chance to see these before they get deleted, but I see you mean these comments. Maybe I’ll move them all to a new post just about the monsters. LOL.
No, I didn’t think this situation would generate so many comments… my avatar was the first one that changed and I just thought it was some kind of glitch because I only saw it on a different notebook and it was the same on this one. So I didn’t realize it was happening to everyone until Eric said something about it.
P.S. Caffeinated now. I don’t know what I’m talking about.
Yikes, Jacob’s is frightful, too! A heart undergoing an EKG gone wild! I tried using another email, Cece, but it told me that “rhonda” was already taken and wouldn’t let me sign up. Sigh. On the bright side, at least I won for “most ghastly avatar”. I do like your demonic potato, Cece, reminds me of Don Rickles in Toy Story.
OK, Rhonda, you can also try commenting here with a new email and see what you get. If you don’t like it, you can always go back to your dreadful lizard (or whatever the hell that is).
VJ, re this avatar revolution:leave it to the curly-haired green monster and the satanic mr. potato head to start trouble. 🙂
Okay, let’s see if the avatar is fixed now…
By the way, hello to everyone, particularly the usuals. Hope that everyone enjoyed the re-runs…
although it will be nice to have some new clues to look at soon.
…that works.
that’s cool, Mathwiz 🙂
Thanks, VJ.
I can’t sign anybody up to wordpress.com and restore their old avi – folks have to do that themselves because they send you a confirmation link via email.
@Cece – here is a link to your old avi if you want that one back.
@Rhonda, yours looks the same today as this.
If you go the wordpress profile route, you can use a cute little animal or any image you want.
Cool avatars
That is interesting…
Thanks WordPress.
Sorry, just trying to find an avatar that works…
It’s like women trying on dresses before a party. No, I’m not comparing you to women, just talking about the process. Yes, I think for you, the light blue one! Or maybe not. The green one makes you look dorky… the dark blue one makes you look fat. OK, whatever.
I like the green one. I’m very partial to Zorro masks. I even considered switching to the Zorro penguin
Omg! It seems everyone’s got a new look for S33.
Jacob’s—WTH?
Mine—just hideous.
Rhonda’s—don’t ask!
Tom’s—not bad, but I think his previous “crabby look” suited him better.
MW100’s—no comments…
Eric’s—can’t wait… (why should you be spared?)
Wow – that’s incredible. I can’t find Tom’s old crab avi but I managed to save some of the ones I remember if anyone wants to go the wordpress.com method.
Otherwise I would suggest using a different email (still use the same comment name) till you get one you like. Then tell me which one it is you like and I will fix it so all your comments to show your favorite.
Thanks, VJ 🙂
I do think it would be interesting to change our names. After all, isn’t it really the thought that counts?
Ummm…I’m special. The Blue Fester can not be denied. Lol.
Yes, Cece, seriously, your avi of a 4-year-old’s version of a satanic Mr. Potato Head with jumbled Chakras does you no justice. The mood-brightening yellow didn’t as a figure, but I looked past that to just see the color. I will always look past whatever monstrousity a computer can create, and see you as mood-brightening vibrant yellow.
As always though, I’m sure that VJ will work diligently to right this horrible injustice.
I think it most healthy to view this horrible incident as good luck: that it happened when it did.
LOL Eric, your description is both dead-on and hilarious! (Coincidentally, my bf’s description of it was “une démoniaque pomme-de-terre.”)
Granted, my previous avi was a hybrid of some kind of one-eye-bearded monster and a bat, but you nailed it: the color yellow is what I liked—my favorite color, btw (I hate shades of brown, taupe, beige…and hate potatoes). Thanks for your delightful and optimistic POV.
P.S. still find it pissy that yours didn’t change, lol.
@VJ, I know you would if you could; time for us to do some of the legwork around here. Thanks for the link.
Yeah, I would, Cece. A demonic potato…. LOL!!
Yellow is my favorite color too 🙂
You changed mine! Lol
I jinxed myself!
Btw, I meant Cece when I made the accusation.
Did it really change and you changed it back, or are you just being Eric and trying to confuse me? I mean, I’d just hate to have missed a chance to make fun of your new one. Did I?
It changed back? Cece you have me confused. I think I should go to wordpress and get Cece’s old one. Now anyone can go to wordpress and imitate anyone of us who goes stock.
it didn’t “change back” per se. It’s showing the old one on browsers where it is cached, but the new one shows up on ones that don’t have the old one cached.
They don’t show you a stock of avatars to choose from on there. You have to find or make you own. The monsters are autogenerated for every different email address.
I seriously hope no one is going to copy someone else’s avi. It will just make extra work for me.
Eric, I only see your old one. You’re welcome to my old one, if you want (that would be hilarious). For now on I’m the Satanic Mr. Potato Head (aka, Demonic Potato)..
So mine changed at a different time than the other? Fascinating.
They are pretty frightful!! Why can’t they come up with cute little animal ones?
For the love of god, Rhonda. Get thee to wordpress.com and get yourself a pretty little dog, or a turtle,or a pig, anything…just something else!
It’s hideous!!! The effrontery!! Is that a palm tree sprouting out of its head?? I tried going to wordpress.com but am having trouble figuring out how to change it.
@Rhonda, where are you getting stuck on wordpress.com?
It won’t let me sign in or open an account, it says I already have a user name.
that’s what happened to me. Then you have to put in your email and choose the forgot password option and they let you reset it.
I tried that, but it wouldn’t allow me to reset my password because I didn’t know the URL number. Thanks for trying to help though, VJ.
hmmm… that’s weird!! They just sent me an email with a link where I could reset mine.
I’m probably doing something wrong.
Rhonda’s now looks like some lounge lizard from a Jane Fonda workout video.
@Eric, on the avi — to fix that, I had to go to gravatar.com and then they tell you to log in from wordpress.com. (If you don’t have an account on there, you have to create one.) Then you go to your wordpress profile and you can set your avatar for the email that you are using, or they let you add another email and assign an avatar to it.
So I did that to get back the one I’ve always had. Now I guess I’ll have to hope they don’t re-assign it to someone else.
Thank you for doing all of that! The other one was not fitting for you at all.