what "type" would i use for this field...

for an icq number field...what "type" would i set for this.

I have tried using what i thought it would be but it always puts a default of 0. Is there anyway to get around this so that instead of displaying a default of 0 is just shows a blank field

Well, one way is not using NOT NULL on the field, another is using char(10) (maybe something other than 10, i'm not that familiar with ICQ), which will default to empty string...

chars are somewhat slower that numbers, though, so you might want to leave it as it is and change your PHP to check for 0... OTOH, it probably doesn't matter that much

I do not think you need to change it, php will do it and if you fill this values (sometimes) in table, you can use it. Print it in table or do something like if($icq==0): echo( );
Empty fields are not good idea.

Just wondering - why do you feel a 0 is better than an empty string (or NULL, for that matter)?

just because i'm a picky person i guess....i think it just looks better in the profiles that i'm making that if someone doesn't have an icq number it leaves the field blank like all the other empty fields....a 0 just makes it look ....not right to me...lol