# Speaking of avatars ...



## panjandrum

Is there is any significance to the orientation of your avatar?

I took a look at some of the mods' avatars.

Neutral - 11: for example Cuchuflete

Looking leftish - 5: for example, Kelly B

Looking rightish - 7: for example, ElaineG

I am curious about this.
Some people choose neutrally-oriented avatars, some look left - away from their post, some look right - into their post.

I wonder did any of you take this into account when selecting your avatar?
If you did, why did you pick the direction you picked?


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## maxiogee

No significance.
My avatars vary and their 'regard' doesn't influence me.


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## Lemminkäinen

Mine stares into your soul 

But I jest; no, I didn't take that into account when choosing this one.


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## DearPrudence

Personally, I chose this one because it's the only one I found.  
I had never thought of where it should look, though the other avatar I had in mind was also neutral. At the same time, mine isn't looking at people directly in the eyes which may be a sign of ... dishonesty or something.
Yes I read something about looking left (or right, can't remember) meant that you were lying. In my case I rarely look people straight in the eyes because I'm too shy and don't want to look to defiant.
Hum, what are you getting at? You are scaring me!   Don't humiliate me publicly!


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## Setwale_Charm

panjandrum, you have been into too much work recently....


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## la reine victoria

panjandrum said:


> Is there is any significance to the orientation of your avatar?
> 
> I took a look at some of the mods' avatars.
> 
> Neutral - 11: for example Cuchuflete
> 
> Looking leftish - 5: for example, Kelly B
> 
> Looking rightish - 7: for example, ElaineG
> 
> I am curious about this.
> Some people choose neutrally-oriented avatars, some look left - away from their post, some look right - into their post.
> 
> I wonder did any of you take this into account when selecting your avatar?
> If you did, why did you pick the direction you picked?


 
And there is our dear Panj, looking at us head on!  Face to face.  

I didn't give any thought to mine.  I chose the famous "Penny Black" stamp as being symbolic of my namesake.

If it's of any interest (in this intriguing question), when I draw people's faces in profile I find it much easier to draw them looking left.  My appalling efforts at drawing animals have them all head to the left.  A dog's profile would always be looking left.  I wonder why. 

LRV


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## Crescent

Well, I quite like my avatar and I think it suits my posts and the person I see to come over as online. 
Firstly, I wanted my avatar to relate to my online name - Crescent, and I found this really cute ony which has a Crescent and below it a little drop of water falling from its spiky tip, which kind of turns it into a question mark (don't worry foreros if you haven't noticed that - I admit I didn't actually notice it until someone pointed it out to me on the forums..)
I'm not really sure about the significance of the question mark - I wouldn't say I'm secretive or anything like that, but I think that the water droplet and the crescent represent well my extremely feminine nature. 

By the way, thank you for opening such an intersting thread, Panjadrum!


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## Chaska Ñawi

I designed this avatar and the last one using a fractal design program available as freeware on the net.  Every now and then when my to-do list gets too long, I abdicate completely and spend a half hour or so doing cybernetic fractal art, aka doodling.  As far as the forum's concerned, I'm not interested in the artwork's orientation (directional or sexual) so much as how well it translates to the avatar format.


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## ireney

For some reason I identify looking left with going away (when movement is involved) and looking right with advancing, coming in as it were.
Marvin stomps off, angry.


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## i_speak_spanish

Mine means that I still haven't decided yet for an avatar..

Another thing.. won't be my looking right your looking left??


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## Paulfromitaly

My avatar is the symbol of my city, Brescia: it looks rightish because that's the way it was drawn I guess..


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## Etcetera

I chose this avatar simply because I liked it. I adore black and white photographs anв the culture of the 1950s.
I didn't think much about the orientation of my avatar, but I must admit that I like the way Rita Hayworth is looking from this photograph.


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## Cecilio

I've just changed my avatar. For a long time I had a little plane which was heading to the left, but in fact I had to options, one to the left and one to the right. Here they are:






I chose the one looking left, and I don't really know why.


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## ElaineG

The panda looks right to signal other lurking members of the right-wing conspiracy that it is safe to come in and suppress civil liberties, overthrow democratic regimes, harass women, minorities, and gays, destroy the environment, steal toys from little children and eat live puppies for dinner.

Actually, I just found him that way.


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## fsabroso

With mine I just want to show what it is inside of all of us, well ... most of us use it.

Regards!


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## confusion

My avatar just reflects my nickname. Doesn't it? 

This is the reason why I choose it. Anyway - in other forums - I tend to change my avatar every now and then.


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## Setwale_Charm

And which way is my Devonshire flag "looking", I wonder?


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## Reina140

I chose mine because I think it's adorable. Sweet and feminine little Betty Boop, just like me! I'm not sure exactly what the look on her face is supposed to project, but it kinda looks like "I'm sorry!" hahahaha


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## Aupick

My avatar is staring at me and everyone else like a deer frozen in the headlamps. He turns away from each post and appeals to its author or its reader for a clue as to what the heck it might mean. He doesn't bother looking at the post because that's not going to help him much. He prefers an appeal to humanity instead. What you can't see is the shrug that follows as he continues along his way. You can't blame him, though. He's on his way home after a ten-hour shift in a car factory.


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## Victoria32

panjandrum said:


> Is there is any significance to the orientation of your avatar?
> 
> I took a look at some of the mods' avatars.
> 
> Neutral - 11: for example Cuchuflete
> 
> Looking leftish - 5: for example, Kelly B
> 
> Looking rightish - 7: for example, ElaineG
> 
> I am curious about this.
> Some people choose neutrally-oriented avatars, some look left - away from their post, some look right - into their post.
> 
> I wonder did any of you take this into account when selecting your avatar?
> If you did, why did you pick the direction you picked?


Mine is an astronomical phenomenon, which doesn't have a face, but if it did, I would not have given its orientation a thought! Interesting question, though...


VL


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## cuchuflete

panjandrum said:


> Is there is any significance to the orientation of your avatar?   *None.  *Well maybe just a little--daylilies look most interesting when viewed head-on.
> 
> I took a look at some of the mods' avatars.
> 
> Neutral - 11: for example Cuchuflete
> 
> Looking leftish - 5: for example, Kelly B
> 
> Looking rightish - 7: for example, ElaineG
> 
> I am curious about this.
> Some people choose neutrally-oriented avatars, some look left - away from their post, some look right - into their post.
> 
> I wonder did any of you take this into account when selecting your avatar? *Not me!*
> If you did, why did you pick the direction you picked?


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## danielfranco

Since chinese ideograms are written from right to left, top to bottom, I guess this one is looking to the left, while appearing to drift to the right.
"Dan", it seems to say, "don't know where you be goin'..."


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## Flaminius

ireney said:


> For some reason I identify looking left with going away (when movement is involved) and looking right with advancing, coming in as it were.
> Marvin stomps off, angry.



Something to do with the writing direction?  Then again, I am not sure if Arabic and Hebrew speakers have an opposite sense of cognition.


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## TimeHP

My avatar is just one of the photos of the place I live that I took.
When I took it I was turned toward right, just a bit, but my position was conditioned by the light. 

I don't know if this is off topic, but I read that we have two different expressions in our face: the left expression and the right expression. It seems one is sadder and the other is happier... 

Ciao


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## fenixpollo

I currently have an avian avatar. It is facing left because that is the way it was facing when I stole it from the internet. I chose it not because it's a left-facing avatar, but because I was looking for this specific cartoon bird.  I don't think that it's left-facing-ness says anything about me.


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## ampurdan

Mine blows right (its left) on the words written in my posts. That means that, despite the fact that someone said somewhen that _scripta manent_, _le temps_ can left them senseless. This avatar sometimes blows some characters away, so don't think that I forgot that ¨, that ´ or that "e", it's just a windy day.


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## panjandrum

What prompted me to ask this question is that I came across the original of my avatar and remembered that I had looked at it (see the original below) and decided that it was looking off the screen to the left instead of into the post - so I inverted it to form the version you see above.

Maybe you don't see any difference


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## Nunty

The little nun in my avatar is leaping off a chair (that I cropped out of existence to bring it down to size). She is running after Love. She is too busy loving Love to look at the posts. That reminds me; I want to change my siggie...




Edit: Changed it.



panjandrum said:


> What prompted me to ask this question is that I came across the original of my avatar and remembered that I had looked at it (see the original below) and decided that it was looking off the screen to the left instead of into the post - so I inverted it to form the version you see above.
> 
> Maybe you don't see any difference


 
Now that you mention it, she does seem to be examining and giving careful consideration to your argument.


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## maxiogee

TimeHP said:


> I don't know if this is off topic, but I read that we have two different expressions in our face: the left expression and the right expression. It seems one is sadder and the other is happier...



Oh yeah?

Which is which ?


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## Saoul

I was looking for Hans Delbruck's avatar... but a lighting... and then a thunder... and all I was left with was this Abby Something's Avatar. 

I DID not choose it. I had to!


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## lsp

I chose the best picture I had of this subject, but I noticed and liked the fact that she faces _in_ to the page, and not off is some unknown, unrelated, distant place.


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## Paulfromitaly

Saoul said:


> I DID not choose it. I had to!



No Boss, _he_ chose you! (forse perchè sei Ab..qualcosa? )


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## caballoschica

I finally found a horse picture small enough that I could adjust to be an avatar since my nick is "horse girl" in Spanish.  I forget which direction it's running.  So, no, I did not take that into account.  But I just might try and find another avatar, so I might give its direction a passing glance.

Aha! It's looking right


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## don maico

Mine meant I had a good time during Halloween and I liked my new face Now, though , I prefer the one belonging to my godaughter


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## TimeHP

> Oh yeah?
> 
> Which is which ?


 
I think that the first is happier, the second is sadder, the third is the original face.
But the original face was smiling, when you did your cut&paste. 
One is supposed to have a neutral expression...




> Maybe you don't see any difference


 
Yes, I see the difference. 
But I also see that in the first picture you are more photogenic.
Maybe you chose it for being more seductive... 

Ciao


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## cuchuflete

dances with hearts


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## gaer

The piano can only go one way on stage, but the sound is not only being projected right but also out.


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## maxiogee

gaer said:


> The piano can only go one way on stage, but the sound is not only being projected right but also out.



But surely that depends on whether you stand in front of the piano looking in at the stage, or behind the piano looking out at the audience?


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## .   1

G'day Cultur@s,
I wish to explore the use of avatars.
I chose not to use an avatar or a name because there is less potential for cultural baggage to interfer with my words.
On a different forum I submitted a gorgeous photo I took of my friend Butch. A wild Butcherbird that used to visit me and sit on my knee to feed. I eventually fed two generations of his offspring. It was wonderful and I had nothing but pleasant memories up to that point. 
I took the photo of Butch just as he was about to swoop down from his perch on my hanging spa towel to take meat from my knee. I loved that photo.
People banged on at me to post an avatar so I shared the one of Butch that I loved.

The administrator didn't get it and cropped it down so that it was just Butch in isolation with no context.
I still liked the photo but my vision was blurred by the memory of the context of the avatar I submitted.
People complained that Butch looked viscious and that my avatar troubled them every time they logged on. I was gobsmacked so I removed the avatar and replaced it with a photo I had taken of my Moonshadow on rolling breakers at Byron Bay Main Beach under a Full Moon.
I received numerous complaints about the 'spooky' avatar that troubled people every time they logged on. I don't log on there now. 

My rambling point is that your view of your avatar is not my view of your avatar and where you see an homage to a famous film I see a deeply flawed and dangerous metaphor for human degradation encapsulated in the artificial character as portrayed in a movie or novel that may have been translated poorly into your language and your 'Blade Runner' becomes my 'Sword Killer'.

This is very confusing to have to remove that iconic image to see the human, that I have never met, underneath the translated words.

What are your opinons of avatars?
What effect do avatars have on you as you respond to a specific person on a specific post?
What effect do avatars have on you in general?
What messages do avatars convey?
Is there anything else you would like to offer regarding avatars?

.,,


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## alexacohen

What are your opinons of avatars?
They're OK; some I like, some I don't. But that's just my taste.  
What effect do avatars have on you as you respond to a specific person on a specific post?
It depends; every time I read a post by Etcetera I have the impression I'm talking with Rita Hayworth. The cats or dogs normally soften me. I like cats and dogs to distraction. 
What effect do avatars have on you in general?
I wonder why they were chosen. And many times I'd like to know why they were chosen. Female curiosity!
What messages do avatars convey?
Tricky. The person who chose a skull may want to convey he's a medical student; I may understand that it's the pirate flag. 
Is there anything else you would like to offer regarding avatars?
I don't understand why people insert their own photo as their avatar. And I wish I was as beautiful as mine!
Good night and sweet dreams.
Alexa


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## jlc246

I have learned things from a few of the avatars (and signatures) at WR, such as the importance of context! One avatar suggests to me that it's better to write "Hola:" than "Hola," -- which I didn't know, being a beginner in Spanish. I think I would check this out before I relied on it, but now I know enough to ask the question.

I enjoy the avatars that I find informative, pretty, charming, or humorous. I haven't seen any on WR that I found disturbing, but I can see that it's possible. 

Thanks for the question. I'm looking forward to hearing more opinions.


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## TRG

. said:


> G'day Cultur@s,
> I wish to explore the use of avatars.
> I chose not to use an avatar or a name because there is less potential for cultural baggage to interfer with my words.
> .,,



Having been amply exposed to your words, I can assure you that the use of an avatar or name, in your case, would be totally superfluous.


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## Joca

. said:


> What are your opinions of avatars?
> 
> I think they are like an accessory, that is, unessential, but on second thoughts they certainly add a trace of conspicuity into a mass of typed words. Though they may be intended as a partial revelation of your true identity, I think they are probably rather a mask. Some of them reassure you, but others are really confusing.
> 
> What effect do avatars have on you as you respond to a specific person on a specific post?
> 
> I don't think they affect my particular response to a specific person/post. I just don't concentrate too much on them. But oh yes, here's something: I think I can give more open answers on a forum to someone who is not "looking" at me, as some avatars are supposed to do. A look sometimes will embarrass me. That's just like me.
> 
> What effect do avatars have on you in general?
> 
> They help me to identify the person whose post I am reading or whom I am responding. But I could do without them. I generally become fond of people for their expressed ideas and for their kindness. As I don't have an avatar here myself, maybe I will more easily fall for the ones who don't have one either. This is not a general rule, mind you.
> 
> What messages do avatars convey?
> 
> It depends. It is hard to exactly know what is behind an avatar. Maybe a secret desire or an ideal. Maybe nothing in particular, just a whim. On the other hand, I am currently wondering what to have no avatar means at all.
> 
> Is there anything else you would like to offer regarding avatars?
> 
> I would like to know what happens when someone gets bored with their own avatar. Are they allowed to change it? Or is an avatar a choice to last?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> .,,


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## geve

Talking about masks... 



			
				Joca said:
			
		

> They help me to identify the person whose post I am reading or whom I am responding.


Same for me. It is easier to spot an image than a name in a page already full of words (or punctuation ). It is like a face, too, in this sense that it comes to embody what you know and feel about the person (as do user names, but they're not so easy to spot). Seeing some avatars in a thread makes me feel good - not because of the image itself, but because I appreciate the person and am glad to "see" her/him. It's always good to see familiar faces!
So when people change their avatars (of course they're allowed to do it!) it disturbs me for a while - but then I get used to it.

Robert, the forum you describe looks like a creepy place.  (And a name made of punctuation makes people wonder and elaborate hypothesis, too!) That being said, I don't think an avatar should be meant to convey some complex intents of the poster. It should act as a sign saying "hello it's me".


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## KaRiNe_Fr

As for smilies, I see avatars like spots of colors, expressions, and "faces" (even if only letters  )  to put in front of (sometimes flat ) screen names.
Could be art for some of them too when they are creative.
And like Joca and Geve and many other babies , images help me to identify the persons among the words.


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## .   1

KaRiNe_Fr said:


> And like Joca and Geve and many other babies , images help me to identify the persons among the words.


How does it effect your perception if the person responding is male but the avatar is unquestionably female?

.,,


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## gaer

. said:


> What are your opinons of avatars?


For me, Roberta, your ".,,," is an avatar. 

But that's just my quirky mind. The kanji for "bird", Japanese, and traditional Chinese, have ",,,," on the bottom, although the last three marks go in the other direction.

But so does the kanji for "black", also "raven". I also think of Debussy's "Footsteps in the Snow".


> What effect do avatars have on you as you respond to a specific person on a specific post?


None. But if I like people, I tend to notice what they pick.


> What effect do avatars have on you in general?


Impossible to say. Probably subconsious.


> What messages do avatars convey?


Only that some people seem to want to use something to express themselves in this way, while others do not.


> Is there anything else you would like to offer regarding avatars?


No. 

Gaer


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## Joca

. said:


> How does it effect your perception if the person responding is male but the avatar is unquestionably female?
> 
> .,,


 
I think I know (and some of you too) at least one example of this situation. Normally I will support free will, but your observation makes me wonder if the choice of an avatar should be totally free or include a caveat against (deliberately or undeliberately) confusing people. I know that in time you will get used to the discrepancy and proceed as if nothing were the case, but somewhere the impact still lingers of seeing a man or a woman on the avatar and knowing that you are addressing a member of the opposite gender. But then again what guarantees that the information you read in a profile is 100% correct? ....

JC


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## jonquiliser

Avatars... I usually appreciate avatars, and the avatars of people that seem nice I often come to appreciate, a little like what happens with faces (although not as dramatic), as geve said. If someone doesn't have an avatar, the username takes that role. Something by which you recognise people.



geve said:


> It's always good to see familiar faces!



Exactly!

Though I don't mind people changing them, the choice(s) of avatar(s) gives ideas about what someone is like (although, of course, the ideas may be all wrong!) But anyway, I guess the effect on an avatar is limited, it's only as you get to know what people are like and how they talk, that avatars start to signify something. 



Joca said:


> I think I know (and some of you too) at least one example of this situation. Normally I will support free will, but your observation makes me wonder if the choice of an avatar should be totally free or include a caveat against (deliberately or undeliberately) confusing people. I know that in time you will get used to the discrepancy and proceed as if nothing were the case, but somewhere the impact still lingers of seeing a man or a woman on the avatar and knowing that you are addressing a member of the opposite gender. But then again what guarantees that the information you read in a profile is 100% correct? ....



And what guarantees one is so sure of one's gender identity?


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## Joca

jonquiliser said:


> ...
> 
> 
> And what guarantees one is so sure of one's gender identity?


 
I see your point, but unless you are a hermaphrodite, you belong to one sex or the other. This is plain information, it hasn't to do with identification.


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## jonquiliser

Joca: I think the problem persists. Gender is about very much more than what there is in the region of your genitals. You might not want people to respond to you "as a man" or "as a woman", but as a person. And also, what about transsexual/gender people? So in all friendliness, I disagree about it being a question of plain information 

I myself find it extremely interesting to see how differently people at times may respond to you depending on whether they believe you to be a man or a woman. Using avatars or usernames to this end seems the an obvious thing to do.


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## I.C.

Avatars make for easy recognition within threads, so I think they’re a blessing. They in particular aid browsing. Not everyone has the time or interest to read all opinions. Avatars greatly speed up skimming and searching within a thread. I wouldn’t want to do without them.

Until someone addressed me with a female pronoun, it had never occurred to me that my avatar could be taken for the depiction of a woman and therefore I might be. Either way this doesn’t worry me and already for continuity’s sake I did not change the image. When I thought that in order to place an opinion I gave, potential readers of a thread should better be able to place my sex immediately, I stated or clearly indicated it. 

If someone chose a depiction of Venus or an image of a female singer as an avatar, I wouldn’t deduce this person must be female or be attempting to create a misleading image. Among other things it could just as well be a statement about beauty or of fandom. If  someone has an image of a beach scene, I won’t think this person is an beach or lives near the sea, either.


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## Chaska Ñawi

A similar thread was begun by Panjandrum, and since has been closed.

I am merging these threads, but am maintaining the closure since the discussion really is not part of the Cultura mandate.

Thank you for your understanding.


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