There is another benefit to disabling avatars besides lack of visual distraction (humbug! ;-)). With my CSS option (thanks!) I'm able to adjust the size of the avatar cell down. When used in conjunction with disabled avatars, this maximises the display area of the forum entry cell. I've found this quite helpful when viewing with lower screen resolutions. It's not that important (especially with the auto image display shrinking now active); just another small detail to make the personal forum experience more pleasant.

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