Oh, I wasn't aiming that at anyone who didn't like the avatar, just specifically at LTK. I get distracted by animated avatars too, and since I usually identify a poster by their avatar it's tricky when they change a lot.
Oh wait, I missed that post entirely.
What makes the difference to me between a split tongue and pierced ears or nose is that I consider my tongue to be a lot more sensitive and important than a flap of skin or cartilage that doesn't have as many sensory cells. So it's not so much the cosmetic appeal/disappeal as it is a question of how you could bear to cut through all that meat.
My avatar past is this Half-Life 2 Deathmatch one, pretty much. I rarely find a suitably sized picture that I like enough to bother changing it here.
See, that one just makes me laugh.
Maybe it's just the girl who weirds me out. I don't get it!
Well, some of it
is about the girl! The smile, eyebrow raise, widening eyes, and second smile somehow makes it more creepy.