diff --git a/app/models/post.rb b/app/models/post.rb
index 496224570..b97aa40af 100644
--- a/app/models/post.rb
+++ b/app/models/post.rb
@@ -115,10 +115,21 @@ class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
     self.cooked = nil
   end
 
+  def self.white_listed_image_classes
+    @white_listed_image_classes ||= ['avatar']
+  end
+
   def image_count
     return 0 unless self.raw.present?
-    cooked_document.search("img.emoji").remove
-    cooked_document.search("img").count
+
+    cooked_document.search("img").reject{ |t|
+      dom_class = t["class"]
+      if dom_class
+        (Post.white_listed_image_classes & dom_class.split(" ")).count > 0
+      else
+        false
+      end
+    }.count
   end
 
   def link_count
diff --git a/spec/models/post_spec.rb b/spec/models/post_spec.rb
index 88c943ec0..146a51599 100644
--- a/spec/models/post_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/post_spec.rb
@@ -86,7 +86,8 @@ describe Post do
     let(:post_no_images) { Fabricate.build(:post, post_args) }
     let(:post_one_image) { Fabricate.build(:post, post_args.merge(raw: "![sherlock](http://bbc.co.uk/sherlock.jpg)")) }
     let(:post_two_images) { Fabricate.build(:post, post_args.merge(raw: "<img src='http://discourse.org/logo.png'> <img src='http://bbc.co.uk/sherlock.jpg'>")) }
-    let(:post_with_emoticons) { Fabricate.build(:post, post_args.merge(raw: '<img alt="smiley" title=":smiley:" src="/assets/emoji/smiley.png" class="emoji"> <img alt="wink" title=":wink:" src="/assets/emoji/wink.png" class="emoji">')) }
+    let(:post_with_avatars) { Fabricate.build(:post, post_args.merge(raw: '<img alt="smiley" title=":smiley:" src="/assets/emoji/smiley.png" class="avatar"> <img alt="wink" title=":wink:" src="/assets/emoji/wink.png" class="avatar">')) }
+    let(:post_with_two_classy_images) { Fabricate.build(:post, post_args.merge(raw: "<img src='http://discourse.org/logo.png' class='classy'> <img src='http://bbc.co.uk/sherlock.jpg' class='classy'>")) }
 
     it "returns 0 images for an empty post" do
       Fabricate.build(:post).image_count.should == 0
@@ -100,10 +101,14 @@ describe Post do
       post_two_images.image_count.should == 2
     end
 
-    it "doesn't count emoticons as images" do
-      post_with_emoticons.image_count.should == 0
+    it "doesn't count avatars as images" do
+      post_with_avatars.image_count.should == 0
     end
 
+    it "doesn't count whitelisted images" do
+      Post.stubs(:white_listed_image_classes).returns(["classy"]) 
+      post_with_two_classy_images.image_count.should == 0
+    end
 
     context "validation" do
       it "allows a new user to make a post with one image" do
diff --git a/vendor/gems/discourse_emoji/lib/discourse_emoji/engine.rb b/vendor/gems/discourse_emoji/lib/discourse_emoji/engine.rb
index 3944406a3..5caafd703 100644
--- a/vendor/gems/discourse_emoji/lib/discourse_emoji/engine.rb
+++ b/vendor/gems/discourse_emoji/lib/discourse_emoji/engine.rb
@@ -9,8 +9,9 @@ module DiscourseEmoji
 
       app.config.after_initialize do 
         DiscoursePluginRegistry.setup(DiscourseEmoji::Plugin)
+        Post.white_listed_image_classes << "emoji"
       end
     end
 
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end