[gvx]

Faces for avatars are almost always better than other options. We humans are really good at recognising faces, even cartoony or abstract ones, which helps users remember other users by their avatars.

Some people are visually impaired or face-blind so this shouldn't be the sole means of identifying users, but for most of us, avatars are really important. There are people who I know from online fora that I haven't visited in years but I still remember exactly what their avatars looked like.

[awb]

100% agree that faces are easier to remember. But some people might have privacy and/or bias concerns about posting their real photo.

[bee_rider]

The website has a selection of generated cartoonish faces.