ZOMBIE CONTENTIONS

Avatars

If you’re not happy with the avatar (the picture or symbol associated with an individual’s comments and posts) that has been assigned to you automatically, getting your own is easy. Additionally, the Web Czar thinks personalized avatars make for a better-looking blog. So, you’ll be doing him a solid if you take the time to avatarize yourself – or if you let him help you if you need help.

There are three kinds of avatar: Default, Global, and Local. Default’s what you get just for showing up. Global Avatars will work here at ZC and at many other sites (especially WordPress blogs), and are handled via another site/service. Local Avatars will work at ZC only, and will need to be set up with the Web Czar.

THE DEFAULT AVATAR

gets automatically assigned to all users who don’t have one of the other two kinds. If you’re happy with the default avatar – that is, remaining a faceless shambling zombie, a Hellish “shade,” in the army of the undead – or just can’t be bothered – then you don’t have to do anything at all.

To get a Default Avatar,

Show up.
That’s it – continue your faceless death-in-life – struggling to ignore the thought of roads not shambled…

GLOBAL AVATARS

can travel with you from one site to another, usually by automatic association with the e-mail address you use when you register or prepare to comment.

To get a Global Avatar,

Locate an image file (.jpg, .gif, .png, etc.) on your hard disk or at a particular web address (of the image, not just the web page that it happens to be on), or gaze handsomely into your webcam.
Sign up at Gravatar.com with your e-mail address.
Click the link provided in the confirmation e-mail that you should receive within minutes and log in.
Pick “add an image,” then choose from the menu of options (hard disk, URL, or webcam, most likely).
Use the cropping tool to adjust the image as desired.
Assign a “rating” (G through X, like a movie rating - ZC takes up to R ratings).
Admire your new “primary” image.
Repeat steps 4-7 at will to add and store multiple images (so you can switch between avatars whenever you feel like it).

After you choose the new avatar there will typically be a delay before it’s applied at a site. You (and others) may need to clean your browser cache (something you should do frequently anyway) before the new image displays.

LOCAL AVATARS

will show up at Zombie Contentions, but not travel with you elsewhere.

To get a Local Avatar

Locate an image file (.jpg, .gif, .png, etc.) on your hard disk – or copy the URL of the image or of the web page with the image that you want to use.
If you have the image on your hard disk, crop it to the desired (square) proportions. If you don’t have photo-editing software (an excellent downloadable free photo editor is available here), skip to the next step.
Let the Web Czar know – via e-mail to czarATckmac.com (replacing “AT” with @, of course) or even in the comment threads where he (CK MacLeod) is active – that you’re ready.
Wait for an e-mail confirming that the Czar has replaced your Default or Global Avatar with your new Local Avatar.
Admire the results – possibly clearing you browser cache first if they’re not showing up already.

SOME CONSIDERATIONS

When you choose an image, keep in mind that it will usually appear as a tiny square (larger in comment threads than elsewhere): A complex scene or full-body portrait probably won’t be legible on most blogs, including Zombie Contentions. Close-ups, even extreme close-ups, will tend to come across much better.

Assuming you don’t have a surprisingly complimentary digital snapshot of yourself left over from ten years ago or something, one good source for images is Google image search: If you’ve always wanted to “be” Hedy Lamarr, you can search for her, and choose a photo you like. Typically, you’ll browse a bunch of thumbnails, then click on one, then click on “full-size image,” and then click-and-drag her/it onto your desktop or into a folder. (Occasionally, you’ll run across sites that won’t let you steal their images: If you’re really determined, there are ways to get around image protection, but usually it’s just as well to move on.)

The Web Czar has been collecting avatarizable images, and has access to a large supply of movie and TV images, so, if you’d like suggestions, he’d probably provide some.

AN EXAMPLE

Original Hedy:

Cropped Hedy, shown in comment thread size:

Very cropped Hedy, shown in sidebar and slug-line sizes:

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