I'm going to disagree about tip #2, default height. If you are a male avatar, you need to be taller than most of the females you plan to dance with. And yes, many of them are seven feet tall.
I see a lot of those statements in profiles "I'm not short, I'm realistic size!". Yeah, well, that's like moving to a country where everyone is eight and nine feet tall and expecting everyone else to accommodate you because you didn't eat your vegetables as a kid.
The downsizing trend might eventually catch on but you can expect the men to follow last because of those circumstances.