A story of message boards, usernames, and especially avatars :

I first had an interest in message boards in 2001 - BarbelFishingWorld or BFW was the first one I decided to join. Strange at first as it was a new concept to me that it required registration on a system I had no control over, especially as I'd been using computers at work for some 15 years before that.

I noticed that most people didn't use their real names, so I decided on paul4barbus as my username, and also decided to sign my posts as paul4. Since then I have used paul4 (where allowed) extensively on over 20 message boards.

Message boards have, in many cases, been replaced by Facebook and other social media platforms. Largely this is because of the ability to instantaneously upload images, often from mobile phones. I prefer message boards mainly because it is possible to find any topic in a logical format, and add to it if desired. Currently I am owner of 2 message boards, act as admin on about 3 boards, but I am moderator on none of them - although of course as admin I can do almost anything if required .

When avatars were allowed I used a static BFW one for a while...

.. but decided as I had an avid interest in centrepins I'd try and find a suitable c'pin one that I might use.

It proved difficult and to be honest I didn't want to use someone elses, whether with permission or otherwise (which I feel is definitely not on). I attempted to make one myself but I'm not that good at artistic things on a computer.

So as I was manager of a design section , and had several talented designers, I gave one of them an aerial centrepin and asked them to make an avatar for me.

It was quite difficult trying to utilise bespoke professional electronic design software for this but he came up with several iterations. Next step was to animate, and he designed this one in two speeds.

It has become obvious that as this was used, by me, on the internet it has been copied and used by others. I was miffed at first but as has been explained it is almost impossible to claim copyright on anything that is on the internet, so I'll just state that this is my avatar and was designed specifically for me. Worse still was that someone copied it and actually included it in a sub-folder of a DVD that they sold for commercial gain - thus inferring, I guess, that anyone who paid money for this DVD has also bought the right to use the avatar.

But as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I couldn't be bothered to pursue this matter, so good luck to whomever finds it to their taste. So, on with the story ...

Although I don't use fixed spool reels I do own some Mitchell 300's, and some Shimano Aero-3500-GTX baitrunners, so I thought it would be good to get one of these as an avatar too. The baitrunner looked more interesting so with some artistic licence employed, I also have these - although I've not noticed if these also been copied.

paul4