If your forums are looking a little dull, you can easily jazz them up with images: avatars and rank files.

Avatars are little graphics that appear near your username.  You can easily find plenty of avatars to upload to the proper images folder, or you can offer your users the opportunity to upload their own.  By doing this, you foster a sense of community, and you allow your users to use the same avatar on your forum that they do on others, which pleases the hardcore forum fan.

Rank files are graphical images that change with the user’s rank.  These files, too, are easily found with a little search engine work, and can be anything from swords to tanks that represent a user’s standing on the forum: one star is for a new user, and five would be for a moderator, for example.

By using avatars and rank images, you can customize your forums, and give them an extra boost.  vBulletin makes it easy to import these files, by using the appropriate section in your administrative panel.  With step-by-step instructions, you will have your avatars and rank files working quickly, to the delight of your faithful users.

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