I'm sorry, I do NOT see how they are "an integral component of being a part of a larger community"

Are you saying that if I prefer to not have them, then I am not a part of this community? Does it make me a lesser human being in PsychCentral's eyes????

Seems to me, that given the fact that people have the option to choose a mood, a location and an avatar, then the other things should be equally easy to make "user-selectable"