Sometimes people just like to have fun. I absentmindedly originally replied to this thread without taking into consideration that I too have an avatar that can possibly be misleading.
Granted, it's a young Japanese girl with a 9, and I tend to come off like an @ss a lot of the time, so I think people just generally know I'm a guy
![Big Grin](http://www.japanforum.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)