why can't i change my profile picture ?

Sometimes, websites work different than the way we assume they work, even if it sounds reasonable. We sometimes just have to brows the website and see where we can do what. It is not always trivial and when we need to know it, we think we will find it out and we don't because the website works different than how we think. We just have to travel through the options and learn before we need some options.

Actually, you probably shouldn't have asked this question at all! (finding the answer in the top tile-menu's "myLot" drop-down "faqs") The answer--however--is that the photo is not changed in "edit profile", but in a tab on the page you get to by the top-link "preferences". A BETTER question--though--is SHOULD you change your avatar? At first, the obvious answer is 'yes' (as you only have a generic, 'newbie' avatar right now ... or you did when you first started this discussion---I normally block all images on my browser, so I only see your avatar on my email-alerts). But what avatar should you upload? And how often should you change it? The answer depends on 'what kind of discusser you are.' I'm a personal-discusser--mostly--mostly-discussing stuff I see as it affects me and the kinds of things I do. So I put up the most-recent picture of myself and will change it whenever I have a newer picture of myself. Some of us are 'imagination'-discussers---mostly-discussing things that are happening out in the world. Their avatars are usually drawings (either random drawings or drawings of the kinds of things they have in mind or ... I don't know what-all) Of course, you're not 'condemned' to be any one type of writer ... I may have been each of those types at different times, and I may become a different type later. If I do, I'll be using the top-link 'preferences' to change my avatar again!

I had that same thing happen to me the other day, so you are not alone in this my friend but I'm sure after reading some of the responses, you already have the solution to your problem.