Option to Show Avatar in Mobile View and Also Option to Show Identicon Instead of Generic Avatar

brisdaz on 28/09/2018 - 19:15
Last edited 28/09/2018 - 19:36

Identicon instead of Generic Avatar

Back in June 2017 I asked the admins if it was possible to have an identicon avatar instead of a generic avatar for those that don't have a custom avatar. This helps in attributing whose talking about what. Admins declined without stating a reason as is there right.

An Identicon is a visual representation of a hash value, usually of an IP address, that serves to identify a user of a computer system as a form of avatar while protecting the users' privacy. The original Identicon was a 9-block graphic, and the representation has been extended to other graphic forms by third parties.

I'm looking for people who would be interested in using a tampermonkey/greasemonkey script to enable this functionality. However to encourage me to do this I would like to know if other people are interested in the same thing.

Avatars in Mobile View option

I would like a small version of the avatar to be enabled for mobile view. A smaller version wouldn't take up as much space whilst still having the usefulness of differentiating between users.

Once again, I'm looking for people who would be interested in using a tampermonkey/greasemonkey script to enable this functionality. However to encourage me to do this I would like to know if other people are interested in the same thing.

I'm not sure if it's possible to have this functionality in mobile chrome but I know it's possible in firefox for android, using the tampermonkey extension.

What is Greasemonkey/Tampermonkey?

For those that don't know Greasemonkey is:

Greasemonkey is a userscript manager made available as a Mozilla Firefox extension. It enables users to install scripts that make on-the-fly changes to web page content after or before the page is loaded in the browser.

A start was made for the above script here but it replaced all avatars including custom avatars with identicon avatars.

Let me know if keen!

Mods I would appreciate this not being censored as I have slightly re-edited the forum post from the original censored post. Mainly I'm looking for support from people so I don't code or pay for code that will go unused. All alterations will be done client side so shouldn't be a load on Ozbargain moderators/developers.

Poll Options expired

2
Yes I want to show avatar in mobile view and to show identicon instead of generic avatar.
3
Yes I want to show avatar in mobile view only
0
Yes I want to show identicon instead of generic avatar only
20
No I don't want any of the options above

Site Discussion

Comments

payton on 28/09/2018 - 19:38

+3

Who gives a Fk about avatars
If what you say makes sense or is interesting, thats all that matters
- [Deactivated] on 28/09/2018 - 19:43
  
  +3
  
  "Everything sounds smarter with a meaningful/significant avatar or quote tag" - Ghandi
  - pegaxs on 28/09/2018 - 19:51
    
    +5
    
    “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet…” Abraham Lincoln
- tranter on 28/09/2018 - 20:35
  
  We have our pluses and negs, what else could we want or need?
pegaxs on 28/09/2018 - 19:49

+1

I come here for the deals and the amusing banter, not for the avatars…

There is always the “Request Decktop Site” function… plenty of avatars with that option.
nocure on 28/09/2018 - 19:53

#NO
Clear on 28/09/2018 - 20:17

The move away from Gravatar to an OzBargain hosted avatar has actually improved the protection of users' privacy. With an Identicon I wouldn't be able to have big man tyrone or the countless other funny avatars I've had over the years.
- brisdaz on 29/09/2018 - 06:24
  
  If you already have a custom avatar then the script wouldn't replace it: only the generic blank avatars would be replaced.
  - brisdaz on 29/09/2018 - 06:31
    
    The initial script was a beta version that replaced all avatars with identicons. The final script would not.
kerfuffle on 28/09/2018 - 20:24

Did you not see the response to your last thread with the same title as this one?
- brisdaz on 28/09/2018 - 22:15
  
  What response? It was censored before anyone could reply.
  - kerfuffle on 28/09/2018 - 22:34
    
    They said no; I highly doubt this thread is going to make them change their mind …
    - brisdaz on 29/09/2018 - 06:28
      
      They said no but client side we control. I'm not asking them to change the server side code. Only to allow me to ask if the ozbargain community is interested in doing it client side.
      
      There's a difference.
      
      Plus admins didn't officially say no to avatars in mobile view. They did imply no by censoring the whole thread but I think that's a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. In any case like above we don't need permission from ozbargain admin to do this. It is harder though as we probably need to work from desktop view and cut back.
      - kerfuffle on 29/09/2018 - 10:58
        
        +1
        
        @brisdaz: Why do you want avatars in mobile view? Just consumes more data and makes the website load slower …
theHMASfriendship on 28/09/2018 - 22:20

Any bargains?
myusername on 29/09/2018 - 09:39

+1

TLDR
eug on 29/09/2018 - 09:52

+3

So this will basically give a unique avatar presumably based on the username to people who haven't set one themselves, so you can see who said what?
Hmm, doesn't the username do that?

Not sure about others, but I think I remember usernames more easily than most avatars. I don't really pay too much attention to avatars for identifying posters as they could just change it, whereas a username will stay the same. I would imagine a small abstract computer-generated avatar would be even more difficult to remember, but maybe that's just me!
- brisdaz on 29/09/2018 - 11:38
  
  Well we have a better memory for faces then for words. How often have you said I recognize the face if pointed out but don't remember the name. There is identicons that aren't abstract but take advantage of this human ability to remember faces. Not every identicon is abstract.
  - eug on 29/09/2018 - 12:40
    
    +2
    
    Well we have a better memory for faces then for words.
    
    I suppose it depends on the person.
    
    With a face-to-face interaction IRL, I'm constantly looking at the person's face in full 3D as I converse, watching for facial cues. In that situation I would probably remember a face more easily as I've spent time looking at that face.
    
    With textual discussions on the internet, there is no reason for me to stare at a small square and spend time remembering what it looks like in relation to the content of the comment. I read comments for the comments.. I don't even bother reading the username unless the comment is particularly interesting. Since everything I'm reading is text-based, it makes sense to associate a textual name to the textual content. It's easier for me to remember "bris-something" rather than "black square with colored patterns kind of like an emu silhouette, which might change next week".
    
    Different people are different though, so identicons might suit other people well. Just thought I'd give my opinion since you were asking for some.
- alvian on 02/10/2018 - 15:43
  
  whereas a username will stay the same
  
  You can change your OzB username once every year.
  - eug on 02/10/2018 - 16:59
    
    OK then. I'd like to change that to "whereas a username will stay the same for at least a year, as opposed to an avatar that can be changed every hour. Or maybe even minute."