imported post
The little ones in teh messages are just smilies, you will see the options for putting them in when you type your messages. The avatars (pictures under peoples usernames) can be chosen from your profile preferences. The FAQ section explains it thus;
Q. Can Ihave an Avatar (small picturebeside my username inmy posts) with my posts and if so, is there a limit to the size of the Avatar?
A. Yes you can attach an avatar by clicking on your "My Account" button and selecting "Avatar" from the account options bar. You can choose from the available avatars currently in the forum, or upload one from your hard drive by browsing to it.The avatar shoud be in Jpeg, Jpg, Gif or Bmpformat and should be no bigger than 10kbs (10000 bytes) and the dimensions shouldnot be morethan 130 pixels wide by 130 pixels height. This limit is to prevent very wide avatars hogging the profile pane and leaving less room for posts.You cannot link to avatars on another site,thisis to avoid leaving that function open to abuse.If you havea favouriteimagethat you really want to use as an avatarbut don't know how to reduce the size to within the limits allowed, just e-mail
[email protected] and arrange to send the image to me (in Jpeg, Jpg, Gif or Bmp format) and I will resize it and mail it back to you so that you can upload it yourself.