Racy Avatars - your input needed

[lanky522]

That's why I'm asking, Lanky. That's why I'm asking. Need feedback.

And that picture I edited and expanded the sign BTW, and it was posted on a weekend (non office day - don't think I didn't plan the timing of it, because I did...and hustled it down the page in a hurry...and never did feel right about it). But again, like I said, I am to blame for all of this, not just for letting it go early on, but for contributing to it with that picture. Now, with that in mind Lanky sir, what can I do about it? I am appealing to you for advice and input, not to point out my mistakes.

Edit: didn't see your edit. Thank you

yeah... i mean i don't think any of it was necessarily a mistake though... and I wasn't trying to berate you at all.

I'm saying that it's all part of the flavor that has drawn me to the site for so long. I feel like guys on these forums are my buds... and we're shooting the shit talking about hockey over a beer (which is exactly the vibe you've long tried to portray).

When you're talking to your buddies over beer about hockey, there'll be an occasional mention of a hot girl... sure... but it's not the norm, and it's not really out of place in that scenario.

I dunno... maybe i'm a paranoid conspiracy theorist, but I see the "beer hockey talk" vibe somewhat coming out of the site if you censor these things.

If you leave it in the hands of the people, they can censor what they deem inappropriate (as I mentioned before, this might not always be girly avatars either).

I dunno... if you eliminate animated avatars... mine is gone. If you eliminate "non-hockey" avatars, mine is gone. Now I've had these "cool spot" avatars for several years now... ever since we first got avatars. I'd kinda be a shame for me to have to change mine...

So with that said, where's the line gonna be? Just no pictures of women? If women pics are allowed, where's the line with clothing? A skirt 2/3 of the length of their legs? I mean... it's a difficult thing to tackle and I think it's better left up to individual users to determine what they deem appropriate (because everyone has different lines in the sand)...

[A Watch]

Dobber was banned at my previous job for that reason... Thankfully I now work somewhere else that hasn't seen it yet It was fine to look at hockey stuff, but the pics were in violation of the Internet Use Policy.

As for reading at work... Lots of places allow for some surfing. There are rules though and many of these avatars violate the rules for the same reasons that you couldn't have one of the pictures on your office wall. It is seen as sexist and masogonist. As I mentioned I have had to explain "its just a hockey site". Many workplaces also have a computer in the lunch rooms for employees to use on your break. You get wierd looks when the sneezing girl pops up and one of the women walk by

[ddp]

Today at work I actually thought at one point while reading that the racy avatars are getting out of control and I had to "be careful"... I too tho love the Irish chick avatar le trefle

[SirKnight]

Can I see some examples of the racy ones? I know sneeze girl and bouncy girl and love Minka on the sofa, but I haven't seen any really racy NC17 ones, I'd like to before they are all gone... lol. If someone can help me out here, that would be great.

Based on what I have seen I went with number 1. It gives the site character, which I know comes at a cost, that some people might not like the character... Ultimately, I am here now and still will be regardless of which way you decide Dobbs.

Avatar of the year: Dean's Sidney/Pierre man hug. More than once I have done a double take...

[NoWayOut]

I'm actually glad this came up. I have to admit it was getting the better of me. I was looking for something that pushed the boundries even more than the last one I had posted. This was a much needed slap upside my head. I'd almost lost sight of why I'm here, the best sport on earth and the greatest community that supports and fuels the our passion for it.

Besides which, staring at that picture of America Olivo, was about to start something I couldn't finish.

[Dean Youngblood]

I think avatars add a lot of colour to the posts and make it easier to identify who is who. I just think some of these pics are gettin to be a little much...I mean its bad when youre too embarressed to look at a site because youre in public...come on guys - separate your 2 favourite hobbies

I posted my thoughts in the other related topic. As much as I like looking at them, I think the avatars should be geared more in the hockey side of things. Thats what this site is. I think it waters down the experience and also sends a gimmicky symbol to newbies when they sign up. How many forums sites have this sorta way of the land if you will , hot girl on a profile avatar. Lots I would suspect. But here, it should be a higher standard, not gimmicky. Just sayin

My son is on the site every day. I agree that he can encounter 'racy' in numerous other places on the internet. More racy than what we encounter on Dobber. However, using this as the measuring stick is not a healthy way to view things. "I'm not as bad as they are. Therefore it's all right." Sorry, I don't buy the theory.

I simply ask myself, can I tell my mother. (she plays the organ at the church). On this theory, I can resolve most any problem in life.

Step one. Ask people to remove the racy avatars. A a later point in time, you may feel in necessary to mandate stronger policy.

This website has allowed us the opportunity to enjoy ourselves immensely at no cost. That's a pretty amazing thing in itself. That the man that organizes this entertainment service for us, expresses concerns for himself (and he certainly can't ever be accused of being prudish), should hopefully be enough reason that we would comply. I for one, would like Dobber to have the opportunity to make an excellent living with this service and would like him to have every advantage possible.

I enjoy some of these racy avatars myself, and have made comment. If I need a fix, I'll be able to find it elsewhere.

I have to agree with three of my favourite posters .

I was thinking about the avatars the other day actuallly. I was like "wow, this site is starting to resemble some porn sites, I am surprised Dobber is allowing this"

Making people disable avatars is dumb IMO. Avatars are one way of identifying ourselves and each other and there is no reason we can't have avatars that everyone could view at work, school, etc.

JHM makes some good points about how you should go about it:

1. Ask for users to tone them down
2. If that doesn't work, warn them individually
3. Last resort - delete their avatars.

At the end of the day, this is a site about FANTASY HOCKEY and the avatars should reflect that. i have definitely enjoyed a whole bunch of these "racy" avatars but lately you haven't been able to read through one thread without coming across 3/4 naked girls on at least a couple of posts.

[fulcrum]

Just from reading the posts I can see that even people that have the so called racy avatars, are OK if they get turfed.
I voted for plea with members to tone it down. I think there is a lot of respect on these boards and I think a general plea would suffice.

I enjoy the avatars as much as the next person.....but I'm two clicks away from all the racy avatars I want.....WAY bigger. hahahaha

I really see no need for them on a hockey forum.

[Instant Karma]

Dobber. You've accumulated the following you have because there's a massive amount of people that like the flavor of this site. Why change what's brought you the success? I look at dobberhockey as "the guy's club" where I can talk about hockey and shoot the shit or whatever... now we're suggesting that we change the guys club so that kids and bosses are ok with it?

I'd say Lanky pretty much sums it up for me. The avatars reflect the ambiance of the community. Fortunately (or unfortunately), it's a community that tends to like babe pics. To me its part of the charm.

[Wink]

How can I vote to increase the number of them?

I'm with him!

[GMGates]

What can be said that wasn't added...

First, I think the 3 headed poll won't give a clear answer because to me it seems the three options are: don't remove, remove completely & plea to remove. Therefore options 2 and 3 cater to the same means just a different approach to it. Meaning those members wanting to rid of them are torn between the two options.

I like the idea mentioned in the thread of expanding the avatar screening option to remove all avatars and/or remove adult avatars only. If that was the case, we wouldn't need this discussion.

Also if it's the younger readers we need to watch out for, why not have a screening for a set age group? Obviously they can lie about their age and most will, but at least it was there. Just an option...

On a personal note, I choose not to remove avatars because there are some very rad looking ones so losing all of them would be a shame.

That said, I vote for option 3.

By the way, what do the female readers think?!

GMG

edit: I beleive creating this thread was sort of a plea itself because if you gotta raise the topic obviously it has crossed the line. You can already see the results of it with some members ridding themselves of their racy avatars.

[Dareo]

Ban them - they add nothing to the site. This is a hockey site plain and simple. If you want to look at that - there are lots of sites that cater to that, some free, some not.

It's at the point where you can't use the forums anymore when your spouse (typically wife) or children are in the room.

It's a huge consideration that reduced traffic will hurt the bottom line of the site - it's simply a no brainer. Clean it up Dobbs.

[Mooseknuckle]

I like the avatars and think that some of them are quite creative. they add some humour, and perhaps a locker room feeling to this forum. Kind of like racy calendars with hot chicks and cars that you have seen in your local garage. If you censor the avatars, the do you censor the language of each post? it is a slippery slope.

That being said, there is a difference between racy and x-rated. I do believe that porn should be eliminated from a all ages forum, but if it is something that you can see in a sports illustrated magazine (no plug intended, but it is a standard that we can relate to) then it should be alright for an online forum.

[Dutch]

First of all, If these avatars are considered porn, you must be a fricking Amish to believe that (not directed at Dobber, but more at the "porn remarks" throughout...

Second of all, a 13 year old kid has seen MUCH WORSE than the worst avatar on this site. If you as a parent believe that your kids don't know anything, you are living in a dreamworld. Kids 13 years old, these days are much more informed than you wish they were.

Thirdly, the office community shouldn't even be looking at any websites not relating to their jobs anyway, so you should be lucky with the "views" that you get from these people, cause if their bosses would find out, they would be in a lot more trouble and wouldn't even be on this site during work hours. And to top that of, if office people can't look at this site during their work hours, they will do it at home, cause at the end of the day we all spend time on here every day.

In conclusion, I personally can't really see you losing business over a bunch of sexy avatars (some sexier than others) because of office people not being able to look at this site during work hours. The option to turn off the avatars is there, so if the person feeling embarassed by an avatar at work chooses not to block the avatars, he is a moron to begin with. It's pretty simple, you don't like them, turn them off, you do like them, keep them on.

Not really a difficult solution if you ask me...

[Dutch]

and by the way...

people don't "come here" to look at the avatars like some suggest... or stare at them for hours. Again, these avatars don't resemble nothing pornographic.

[ridinryan44]

Ban them - they add nothing to the site. This is a hockey site plain and simple. If you want to look at that - there are lots of sites that cater to that, some free, some not.

I think this is a huge matter of opinion. I think they add a lot to the site, as a lot of previous posters have stated.... maybe not for you, but they definitely define a lot of people on these boards and I recognize most users via the avatar. I, personally, would hate to see it changed, that being said, things are pushing the envelope a bit. I, personally, think this thread will be more than enough to bring things under "control." Anytime there has been an issue before all it has taken is a simple mention and the dobber community has responded. I think we'll be all good...