Smilies are controlled through the control panel. If you click on Smilies in the left-hand menu, then three options will be made available.

Clicking on SmilieManager will take you to a window where you can edit, move, delete, or view smilie categories. By default, there is one smilie category called . GenericSmilies
If you now click on View, you will be taken to another screen that shows you all the smilies in that category.

You have a number of options when working with smilies. These include editing a smilie, adding a smilie to a category, and uploading a smilie.
Editing a Smilie
Clicking on Editallows you to change a number of the smilie's parameters. These include:
• Title This is the title or name of the smilie displayed.
• Texttoreplacewithasmilie This is the text that, when entered into a post, will be replaced by the smilie. This can be changed to suit. Don't make this a real word as this might cause sentences to have random smilies placed in them. The preferred format is :name:.
• Smiliefilepath (onserver) This is the path to the smilie image on the server.
• Smiliecategory This is the category where the smilie is stored.
• Displayorder This is the order in which the smilies are displayed to the end user when previewed. The smilies with lower numbers are displayed before those with higher numbers.

Adding a New Smilie
If a smilie is already on the server, then you can add it to one of the categories. To do this, you fill in the details for the smilie and click on Add Smilies. The smilie will then be added to the list available to users.

Uploading a Smilie
This is very similar to adding a new smilie to a category if you click on the Browse... button, you will be able to upload smilies direct to the server from your computer. The file path specified will need to have a chmod permission of 777 set in order to allow file uploads.

Creating Your Own Smilies
You can make your own smilies if you are good with graphics they are just standard GIF format files. However, there are literally thousands of smilies and smilie packs to be found on the Web for you to use.
Avatars
An avatar is a small picture that can be set to appear next to a username to give the user a visual identity. Users can choose from a set of preloaded avatars, or the administrator can allow custom avatars to be uploaded.
To control avatars, click on Avatars in the AdminCP to expand the options, and then click on AvatarManager .

You will then be able to use the avatar manager to control avatars, in much the same way that you use the smilie manager to control smilies.

We will now see how to add and store avatars.
Adding Avatars
Just as with smilies, there are two ways to add avatars use avatars already on the server or upload new avatars. You can either add avatars singly or in batches, depending on what information you provide.

The only difference with this process compared to the smilie upload process is that you have to provide a number for the MinimumPosts field. This is to control who has access to which avatar. So, for example, if you supplied an avatar and you only wanted people with 250 posts or more to be able to use it, you would enter 250 into the minimum posts field.

The only difference with this process compared to the smilie upload process is that you have to provide a number for the MinimumPosts field. This is to control who has access to which avatar. So, for example, if you supplied an avatar and you only wanted people with 250 posts or more to be able to use it, you would enter 250 into the minimum posts field.

Storing Avatars
There are two places in which avatars can be stored: either in the file system or in the database.
• The advantage of storing avatars in the database is that the storage system is more efficient and they are easier to back up (because you just have to backup the database and not individual files). However, storing them in the database can add a considerable amount of data to the database, making it grow in size dramatically. It also adds a greater load onto the database in terms of data access.
You can change where the avatars are stored using the AvatarStorageType screen.

Before moving the avatars from the database (where they are stored by default), you will need to set the chmod permission of the folders receiving the avatars to 777 and make sure that there is enough space on the server for all the files. If you fail to do this, then the process will fail and the avatars will remain in the database.
If you change your mind later, you can move the avatars back into the database by reversing this process.

Summary
In this article we've looked at the critical role the administrators play in keeping a forum working. Some of the tasks that we've looked at (such as updating the counters) are just general housekeeping, while others (such as backing up the database) are critical tasks that can make all the difference to the long term health of your forum.
We've also looked at two items that add fun and individuality to your forum smilies and avatars.
The message here is a simple one take care of your vBulletin discussion board, and it will take care of your members.