Can someone help me figure out which module I need? I've waded through a half-dozen or so and can't get one that does what I need.

I need a module that will display posts (with avatars) directly in the top page, without the user having to click anywhere to get to it. I'd really, really like it to limit the display to the first x number of characters (say, 50 or so). The Forums v.1 module looks good, but it only displays a list until you click on a post. The News Topics feature of the News module displays text, but with no size limit & no avatars, plus you have to select a topic to see the posts.

My company is very specific about what it wants. The posts must display in the top page, with avatars, with the display limited to x number of characters (click to display entire post).

Can anyone direct me to a more appropriate module? FYI, I'm running XOOPS 2.0.9.2