disabling avatars

I've switched off avatars for the forum - and on the config page, the avatar selection item is then hidden, which is fine. But why is the "show avatars" option not hidden? If the users can't upload avatars in the first place, what's the point in making them choose if they want them shown or not?

I find that pretty confusing - a lot of users are going to wonder how to put up their own avatar, when they see this option is present...