Yes, you can!

Here's how to turn off "blinkies":

• Log into PBS
• Go to your Account Settings:
  • Place your cursor over My Account in the toolbar at the top of the site, and click "Settings" in the menu that drops down
  • or Click the Settings tab in the My Account view
• On the Settings page:
  • Click the link "Forum Settings" at the top of the page (or scroll down to see this area)
  • Select "no" next to "view other members' signature images"
• Click

To "freeze" the animated images in the Discussion Forums:

• Using Firefox, you used to be able to press the "escape" key on your keyboard after the page is loaded on your screen. Firefox lost this capability with recent updates.
• You can use an add-on for Firefox that restores this functionality (pressing shift-escape). It is  available from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/superstop/
  • Please be careful; sometimes add-ons can be vehicles of malware. Be sure you scan your hard drive after any downloads, and don't open the downloaded program if you get an alert!
• If you do use the add-on, you will need to press the shift-escape each time you move to another page in the forum.

Related Links:

What are the PaperBackSwap Discussion Forums?
How do I post in the Discussion Forums?
What else is in the Account Settings?