MisutaaAsriel
Preface
Whilst it is understandable that the VRChat staff do not wish to confuse users with "Hide Avatar Globally" when "Show Avatar" is set,
there are numerous reasons why the chosen behavior to always show avatars is bad
.
Namely, the usefulness of
Hide Avatar Globally
is to
hide avatars which the user may find discomforting, upsetting
, or even technically poor performing on their platform of choice. Likewise,
even amongst players the user may trust to "Show Avatar"
, the user cannot control them nor their ability to wear said globally hidden avatars.
Furthermore
, due to the safety system on Quest,
it is common to use Show Avatar on your friends list, as the minimum performance setting cannot go below poor
,
and it has been established elsewhere that the Quest's ranking system is perhaps aggressive, albeit with good reason.
Additionally
, there has become a social, shall we say, practice, amongst some, to have aggressive safety settings, then
Show Avatar
for those they directly interact with. This does not guarantee trust in that user, and can result,
in fringe cases
, in a large list of players in which
Show Avatar
has been toggled.
Ultimately
however,
Show Avatar
is
a per-user
setting and
Hide Avatar Globally
is
a per avatar setting
. The avatar setting should
always
take precedence. —
It even says "Globally" in the name! It's not really global if something else can override it, is it?
—
Solution
To
remedy this conflict
, the 3-Way avatar display toggle on user profiles should be adjusted into a 4-Way toggle, with the following options:
  • Hide Avatar
    :
    Hides this user's avatar always
  • Use Safety Settings:
    Shows the player's avatar, unless hidden globally, or blocked by the user's performance and safety settings
  • Show Avatar:
    Always shows the player's, unless hidden globally; "Show Unless Hidden (Globally)", in essence
  • Always Show Avatar:
    Always shows the player's avatar, even if globally hidden; An override
Upon updating to this system, all existing uses of
Show Avatar
will be set to the
new
Show Avatar
, as to avoid confusion as to "why Hide Avatar Globally is not working with some people". Users who wish to override HAG on specific users may do so from the profile page with this new
fourth
setting.
August 12, 2022