azurelunatic | Avatar? Ha, no.

Synonyms for "icon": user picture icon, userpic, usericon, upi, (rarely and inaccurately in some cases) avatar.

I think it was originally "user picture icon" on LJ, where it got shortened variously to "upi" and "usericon" or "userpic". "Avatar" is often incorrect because an avatar is a stand-in for the appearance of the user, that when the user writes you should picture the avatar communicating it, but that is not all userpics are used for. Userpics are also extended mood icons, decorations, jokes, other forms of symbology, or just pictures that the user found pleasing. Right now my default userpic is "Axial Tilt is the Reason for the Season", and a globe with gold, red, and green text is not speaking my words, though I wouldn't feel out of place with myself or my avatar wearing a brooch of my default userpic.

Now I want to figure out how to make that happen. Badges are the obvious answer, but I might want something nicer.