how do i go about starting a POLL thread, im unsure on how to do it

Finish typing the contents of your thread and then before posting there is an option at the bottom that says do you want to post a poll...say yes...click reply and from there on it is pretty simple.

good good thanks, now how come my avatar shows now? tought you had to pay?

Nope. Porfiry enabled them for all users, nice guy that he is.

Though the max size of the avatar allowable is reduced......