I've held my comments on this subject, so not to engage, or possibly make matters worse. I'm not sure what benefit commenting in a thread like this has. Or if the juice is worth the squeeze here. But FWIW my 2¢
Though, I can see both sides of the argument.
I voted no.
But I don't know the full backstory.
If the avatar was changed to intimidate another member, then I completely understand the strong reaction.
However, if the avatar was apart of the members long time nP persona, and there was no hidden antagonizing meaning, I could see an argument where the member who reported the avatar could have done so to antagonize (or pick at) the member for possibly an outside issue. And I question if that type of behavior could be more damaging to the forum, in that, if picking at the members avatar causes him/her to leave nP, and we lose a valuable member, then well, I don't think that is cool.
Seeing, how backlinks work, and trickle down of the internet, I completely understand why members like
@bmugford have taken a hard stance as to voicing their opinions for fairness. When a conversation occurs and it (roots) from namePros, and that nP thread link is passed around as fact, to some of the darkest places of the internet, some members comments can cast a certain light on nP, and possibly invite outside harassment, or a change of sentiment amongst the forums most active members.
So the mods have to draw the line somewhere. As some of the forums most active members have evolved from their mistakes over time, and in hopes of creating future active members, tolerance and teaching is a necessary line to balance, while maintaining the forums most critical core ethos.
I miss my grilled cheese avatar. It had meaning to me. But some found it disrespectful. It may come back one day. Maybe not. Until then, my avatar remains faceless by default. Not sure I would agree or like it if everyone followed in my footsteps, and removed their avatar though. I feel It takes away from the personality of the forum.
I recall having an avatar infraction in the past, below is a clear example where I was out of line, and changing my avatar was more of an antagonistic action, tantrum like, to make a bold statement, that apparently, I wasn't happy with being banned from chat. I don't remember what I said to get a chat ban, though, if it was for something minor, banning me from chat could have been a necessary measure to mitigate any further outbursts, as typically, misunderstandings illicit the majority of my unprofessional behavior.
Below is the infraction I received a few years ago (not related to the grilled cheese avatar).