Doug:
Make sure the picture you are trying to use as your avatar is appropriately sized. "The maximum size of your custom image is 200 by 200 pixels or 19.5 KB (whichever is smaller)." You can use an online image resizer (e.g.,
https://photoshop.adobe.com/resize/?...NM1DC&mv=other), if needed.
Your post inspired me to add an avatar. It didn't work until I resized the image.
-Victor