diff --git a/app/helpers/application_helper.rb b/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
index cfe9e261..587e6e7d 100644
--- a/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
 require 'digest/md5'
 module ApplicationHelper
 
-  def gravatar_icon(user_email, size = 40)
+  def gravatar_icon(user_email = '', size = 40)
     gravatar_host = request.ssl? ? "https://secure.gravatar.com" :  "http://www.gravatar.com"
-    user_email ||= ''
     user_email.strip!
     "#{gravatar_host}/avatar/#{Digest::MD5.hexdigest(user_email.downcase)}?s=#{size}&d=identicon"
   end