It's looking as though avatars are turned on at the moment. Is this a temporary thing or will these be staying?

No, I've told vwlphb and they'll be turned off.

ETA: It will allow you to select an avatar, but they won't be displayed. So while it looks like they're on, they are in fact disabled.

This hasn't anything to do with anything, but I never tire of your signature, Luft.