Gravatars

Q. What are these things and how are they different than Avatars?
A. Gravatars are avatars, but on a global scale. By using Gravatars you can set up a photo or graphic to represent your account and have that avatar be up-to-date on any number of sites that make use of gravatars.

Q. Why does my Gravatar look like the letter G?
A. Because you don't have a Gravatar yet, or the email address that you used to register on Texas Hiking is not the same as the one you used on the Gravatar site. Don't worry, you can associate multiple email addresses to one Gravatar image if you so choose.

Q. How do I get my own Gravatar?
A. Simply go to https://en.gravatar.com/ type in the email address that you used to register at Texas Hiking and then select a photo or graphic for your Gravatar.

Q. What should I put in the picture I use for my gravatar?
A. Anything you like! Some people choose to use a photo of themselves, their pet(s) or interesting graphics. It need not be a mugshot of you if you don't want it to be. Use your imagination and pick something!

Q. I created or updated my Gravatar, but I don't see a change on Texas Hiking. Why not?
A. Many sites cache photos for some period of time to save the effort of downloading the same content over and over. So even after you update your gravatar you might have to wait for a few minutes before your new visual persona is visible.

Q. Where are all of these gravatars of which you speak?
A. Right now, they're only being used in our new community forums. You'll see them in more widespread use throughout all of the sites in our network in the coming months.