John Cardinal

I don't think you have to choose between consistency and accuracy. In general, most issues that relate to consistency don't affect accuracy. For example, if you always use a particular tag type to record a particular type of data, it's unlikely that will affect the accuracy of what you recorded. If you do find that consistency (or some other factor) negatively affects accuracy in a particular circumstance, explain the issue in the relevant source citation (my choice) or perhaps in a memo. Be consistent in where you enter your explanations.

Some browsers refuse to show some icons if the page includes a lot of them. Usually, refreshing the page fixes the problem. If the user can right-click and choose "Show Picture" to fix the problem, then it's a browser issue. I know IE has this problem, and AOL is actually using a customized version of IE. I think subsequent discussion of this topic should be moved to the SS-L list.

I think an avatar is defined (roughly) as "a digital representation of a user in a virtual context." In virtual reality contexts, avatars are dynamic or interactive. The avatar simulates the user's movement through the virtual space, the user's mood, etc. This forum software supports a simple icon that appears in the box to the left of posts you submit.