lol, i have bigger fish to fry.. you can ponder all you want, my explanation showed how the logic evaluated..
and i DID re-check over at php.net, just to make sure before i posted.. i guess that makes me 'cynical'
so all is one with the force now, i guess..
and like i said, you can do it many other ways:
eg
$Picture = isset($user['USER_AVATAR']) ? $user['USER_AVATAR'] : 'http://';
i'd say it's there more so as a legacy dealio.. threads has been around for awhile now and i've noticed different ways of doing things..
