To me I'd rather a person not have a picture than to post pictures portraying someone they aren't. Many think of lush as a sex site, where when your here you must exchange only naughty chats and pics. I however view it completely different. I am very selective in who I choose to be friends with. To me lush is a site about showing inner beauty and strength. Authors pour their hearts out into their writings and many share experiences of lust, sex, love, betrayal and loss. I can't think of any other site that exposes our inner beings more, so I can understand why someone who has exposed themselves so much would still want keep themselves private to the lush world.
I'm also with InsatiableLover and Dani on this.
To me, Lush is many different and exciting things, but unfortunately exposing your inner self to the outside world can be a double-edged sword. It's great for the ability to share and read about others thoughts on topics which remain somewhat in today's society, and also to make some some great virtual friends. However, it comes at the price of potentially also being discovered by people you would rather not know you so intimately, including work colleagues, friends and (ahem) family, for example.
Having said that, I do find it preferable for people to have at least some kind of avatar that represents something you love. A picture of chocolate cake bothers me less than a picture of a celebrity.
GW.
If the person has reasons to not post them, that is their own business. If they find they want to send them in private, that is their business too.
If you have a generic red avatar, I am far less likely to be interested in learning more about you. I prefer something in your avatar/profile that tells me something sanguine about the person with whom I am talking--doesn't have to be an actual picture of you, just a picture that represents you. That said, if you try to pass someone elses' photos off as yourself? Instant good-bye.
Want to spend some time wallowing in a Recommended Read? Pick one! Or two! Or seven!
For many reasons they may not want their pics on their profile. From not wanting to be recognized to not having confidence in their looks, either way they should be respected for that. Those that say if you don't have a pic don't bother me, well that just shows what kind of person they are. I'll show my body and my face privately. But I want nothing to to with shallow people that have to see a pic. That means they are all about looks and man are they missing out on a lot of good people.
Renee
lol I don't see why they shouldn't have a profile picture. It doesn't have to be a picture of them it could be anything, and anything is better than nothing to me ha. First impressions are everything ha.
In your response to a pic and first impressions are everything, well if you have to see a pic of someone to have an impression of them, it does not say much for you. I have seen many good looking people that were as dumb as a glass of water, and we're so self sintered and selfish. And many people made up for not looking quite so good by being good people. If you have to see a pic of someone to get a good judgement of them, it only shows how shallow you really are, and you miss out on some real good people.
Renee
Different strokes for different folks...
Anonymity can be a wonderful, warm blanket under which we can be free to express ourselves without fear of discovery. I read a post from a verifier here who wants people to post a pic, and she doesn't have one posted. Don't preach if you aren't living the sermon.
I think it's totally up to a person to have personal pictures. I don't see why it matters though. If I was to talk to a person for an extended period of time, and then when I showed them a picture, and I wasn't what they expected and they stopped talking to me, that's really not the type of person I want to interact with anyway.
You knowing what I look like wont make you like my stories any more than you do, won't make you agree with my forum posts, and surely won't make you enjoy my company any more than you do not knowing what I look like.
Part of Lush for me is fantasy, reality has no spot on here for me.
If they dont want to put pics up that is fine but i dont like when someone with no pics starts hitting me up for pics
Would be great to have some pics but not essential...........but a person should really have some text about themselves and their likes....so I can get an idea of what that person is into. If nothing there, then inclined to avoid them.
I can understand people not putting pictures of themselves on their profiles, but it is great fun to find an avatar that says something about you.
Don't really think it is a problem - sometimes I sort them out because of no photo but if we are connecting with each other I usually require a photo.
I'm new here & my picture is funny... and better then having a blank silhouette. I think people with out pics are probably just here to read stories and that's it.
Lush is an escape and a fantasy world for many people, but what they do and say here may not be tolerated in real life. There are people who feel free to express themselves and have their faces on their profiles, and don't see an issue with it. There are those who need to keep things private and that should be respected as well. If your profile is completely blank for me it means you are just here for some quick fun, and that's OK too. Live and let live.
In my opinion, I dont like the white and red. It tells me nothing of the person except if the person is male or female. At least have an avatar of something, I have seen cats, funny pics, cars, motorcycles, anything. I can relate to privacy issues, but the avatar generally tells me a little something about the person I am chatting with.
I don't expect other members to be as 'out there' as I am, because a lot of people can't afford to show as much of themselves as I do, but the generic red avatars show a lack of imagination, so I'm less inclined to interact with those people. There are some very clever avatars here that convey something of that person's personality, and yet are not actually pictures of them. In many cases, they are just as intriguing as seeing an actual photo of the member. But if you use an avatar of a beautiful, sexy body/face, and its not really you, I think you should say that on your profile, as many here do. Honesty is always the best policy. And in that spirit, let me be honest... I use my own pics as avatars, but some are recent and others are years old from my modeling days. The lilypond pic I'm currently using is me at age 26 (maybe 27?), while the dog-walking pic is less than 2 years old. If I have long, straight hair in the pic, it was taken in my twenties. If my hair is spiraled, I'm in my thirties and the pic is more recent.
Bethany...from this male's point of view....I do not care if your pic is of you as age 26 or age 30...both are equally beautiful...just my two cents worth.
Everybody started with the red avatar...it doesn't bother me if they don't have their real picture as their av pic.
I am fine with the pictures of dogs, monkeys, cats, asses, or I can even survive any disastrous looking body part too. So feel free to put anything you like.
New members & in the short term, ok, fair enough, but long term active members I'd have to question their reasons. I know that illicit activity on here can/could be risky, but stick your favourite pet up if needs be!