Icon (Image)
| Synonyms: | avatar, userpic, display image | |
| See also: | LiveJournal, Gay Pants | |
| Click here for articles related to this term on Fanlore. | ||
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An icon, also called an avatar, userpic, buddy icon, or display image, is a small graphic used to visually identify a user on a given service, such as a journaling site, a forum, or an instant-messaging service. Sizes range from 32 x 32 pixels to 128 x 128 pixels.
On most forums and messaging services, a user has one image that gets used on every post/conversation, unless she uploads another to replace it, which then becomes the default. On Livejournal-type journaling services, users can upload several images, and choose among them when posting an entry or comment.
Icons on Livejournal-type services
On Livejournal-type journaling services, icons are 100 x 100-pixel images that appear next to users' names when they make a post or comment on the site. Users on most LJ-type sites can have multiple icons and choose which one to use for each post or comment.
This ability to choose is popular enough with the userbases to make extra icon space be a perk, with additional slots granted with paid membership. Different services start from different bases. For example:
- Dreamwidth
- OpenId: 15
- Free: 15
- Paid: 100
- Premium/Seed: 250
- Inksome
- Basic: 150
- Paid: 250
- Permanent: 300
- Early Contributor (no longer available): 350
- Insanejournal
- Free Patient: 100
- Self-committed (Paid): 250
- Permanent: 300
- Early Inmate (no longer available): 150
- Livejournal
- Basic (free, no ads): 6
- Plus (free, but allowing ads to be shown): 15
- Paid: 30, plus the ability to buy more directly, up to 100, not including "loyalty userpics" that are granted as extra features for having accumulated a certain amount of paid time
- Permanent: 197
- Journalfen
- Free (not usually available): 10
- Basic (Paid): 500
- Premium: 1,000
Making fandom-related icons is a popular form of fanart, and there are many communities devoted to sharing icons that fans have created.
Icons are also used as part of a user's identity: the user can create or select a particular default icon, a common theme for all their icons (such as spiders, or a particular actress, as an example), or a set of icons that have the user's name on them. The icons become a part of someone's persona and a visual way others can recognize them.
Icons as Communication
Icons are used as an additional layer of text to one's LiveJournal/Dreamwidth comments by many people. They can be used for expressing sarcasm/mood, "matching" icons, replying with just an icon and a textless comment, etc. The same comment with a different icon can have a very different tone. This conflicts slightly with the use of icons for identification, and also causes problems for people with certain disabilities who cannot process the information from the icon.
- (icon as statement of views on fannish controversies?)
- (icon threads)
Aesthetic Trends
- (different icon-making aesthetics, trends)
Etiquette and Controversy
(icon etiquette controversy: crediting icon creator, crediting original artist, "stealing," "ganking," altering, making icons from fanart, etc.)
Icon Communities
Icon communities are abundant on sites like LiveJournal, where it is common for any medium-sized fandom to have at least one community for sharing icons. Icontests and other icon-making challenge communities are also very popular.
(list of icon comms: LJ, other platforms??)
- Obsessiveicons on LJ is very popular.
Resources
While many people create icons using image-editing software, it's also possible to create basic icons using icon-making sites freely available on the web. Some of these include:
- Icon Maker (works from an image you upload)
- Abi Station (Otaku, Portrait Avatar, Portrait Illustration, Portrait Icon: creates a drawing for you based on specs you choose)
(more here)
