AH-HA! Here I am! My (self-pic) avatar is now posting!!!
Thank you Paul for your sweet understanding. Karl Cohen is a friend of mine and he told me how great you are! So true! I can't wait to see your movie! It's on my Netflix list. Just waiting for it to be available. My real name is Kathy Engelhard. He may have mentioned me to you. Struggling artist trying to make her second little independent animation on her own in California. USA. I am a member of the ASIFA-SF too.
And, thank you, Crayon 10 for helping me think about different codes and file types.
Here's is what it took to make it work. I changed the file type to a GIFF file with the same size pixels and uploaded that new file.
But, I think what really did it was the confusing and unclear line at the bottom that says:
"Avatar dimensions:"
"Specify the width and height of the avatar, leave blank to attempt automatic verification. px × px"
I reread that part that says, " leave blank to attempt automatic verification" and that's the answer right there. It only works when this part is filled out. Then click submit. Then you see immediate success!
I have to tell you it is always fun to express myself with the symbol keys !!!#*&?*>

< I hope this helps others like me.