I was actually *sad* when they upped the icons (b/c I kind of liked having to pick and choose and being able to keep track of other people's icons). Oh, yeah, I remember having that response, too, because suddenly I had to always check people's names on their posts, because I was no longer familiar with all their icons.

Your icon is one of the ones I have strongest associations with, because you've used it so long, and I would definitely be weirded out if someone else started using it!