Yes they are! I stopped bothering with ours because of all the drama they cause lol. The bonus is nice for farm runs and a few other things, but not worth the hassle, so I just zone out of chat in our clan about the avatar unless someone messages me for a rank up or something.
Doubt anyone is actually thankful that I go every week and get our upkeep so everyone can get the benefits of the avatar. >.<
I admit I do wrong and log out with it sometimes, but it's not intentionally L but seriously the way people act about it.. makes me want to write a full-out rage reply.