Re: Better Gravatar directions INSIDE bbPress
I can see why Automattic would want the gravatar service integrated directly into the software, it ensures people actually use the service.
Can’t you edit the template files to put the Gravatar instructions in there for your installation?
I think grassrootsspa is suggesting something for the core download, I don’t think this is a request for their own site as that would obviously just be a simple addition to the template files.
I think this is something which should probably be added to the default theme. Many users don’t find it obvious what a gravatar is and so go hunting for an avatar uploader, if there isn’t one then they’re bound to get confused. Adding some default text in the profile along with a link back to gravatar.com would make a lot of sense to me. It would also ensure that themers remembered to include the text in their own themes.