I have a question too. It's understandable that there was a time when newbies were able to use avatar function on this website but once it got permitted, then why wasn't it possible to just disable this option for everyone, for users registered before this rule. Is this something specific for simple machines forum CMS?
I think in the default SMF there are no features that will remove avatar for a specific rank or under a specific rank. My best guess is that if theymos wanted to remove avatar who are not full member+ then he would need to run a custom script and perhaps he was not much enthusiastic about it. So those accounts still have avatar if they have not changed yet.
Royse777
From u=1 to u=72990 you'll find a lot of accounts with avatars.
How do you know the last number?