Emoticon Ettiquette

[Mrs. Nebulae]

Yo,

When not serving as eye candy for the forum with my YouTube videos, I edit high-tech communications for big corporate giant types. A friend has asked me to throw down some usage/style issues for emoticons on my blog and I want to crowdsource not just questions but get some opinions as well. Can you weigh in please and add issues I’m not thinking of? I’m talking only about emoticons that aren’t converted into pictures.

1. When adding an emoticon to a parenthetical aside, do you do it like this (no space. :)) or like this (with a space. :) )? Do you use the smile to double (as the closing parenthesis :)? What about other punctuation like periods and question marks – do you add a space after the emoticon or not?
2. Is :) or :-) like the toilet-paper-roll-over or toilet-paper-roll-under debate of the 21st century? In that case, what the hell is (: ?

What else?

Mrs. Neb

[LoopStationZebra]

When are you going to get naked for us?

[nebulae]

When are you going to get naked for us?

Interestingly, you can look at the way a forum creates emoticons based on what you type. If you hit the emoticon buttons on the left, you'll see what the accepted syntax is for this forum (and many others) - maybe that's a good starting point for your post.

[LoopStationZebra]

When are you going to get naked for us?

Interestingly, you can look at the way a forum creates emoticons based on what you type. If you hit the emoticon buttons on the left, you'll see what the accepted syntax is for this forum (and many others) - maybe that's a good starting point for your post.

Okay, okay. I know you get jealous when your wife gets all the attention so when will YOU get naked for us then?

[nebulae]

I'll get naked after you make one useful post on this thread.

[Mrs. Nebulae]

:D :) :( :o 8O :? 8) :lol: :x :P :oops: :cry: :evil: :twisted: :roll: :wink: :!: :?: :idea: :arrow: :| :mrgreen:

What's the meaning of Mr. Green?

I prefer the text versions over the conversions ... to me the pics are like something an admin in a cubicle plastered with pictures of her cat would overuse in passive-aggressive e-mails telling you to keep the breakroom clean.

Plus, you're quite better off with your imagination as far as my nakedness is concerned.

[mikemc]

IMO: Emoticons should *not* double as structurally functional punctuation.

Emoticons should be delimited by spaces because they are glyphwords.

is less formal than [<-with nose] it is also the case that the latter is slightly more effectively recognized as non-functional punctuation than the former.

is a sorely neglected emoticon which should be more widely used. In fact, I would posit that 40-65% of all business communication could be wholly supplanted by this one emoticon. For example:

"After analyzing these mortgage back securities, we've estimated them as being nearly worthless."



"Estimates indicate the price of oil will top $120 a barrel in the coming year"



"Our preliminary reports from voluntary beta testers indicate that the new 8.1.3 release candidate has crashed within the first 5 minutes of use."



[edit] (: is a left handed person's way of self-identifying and generally continuing to irritate everyone with normal handedness.

[UKRuss]

:€

Grrrr.

[LoopStationZebra]

I'll get naked after you make one useful post on this thread.

You've really gotten quite dickish since your return. What gives? What happened to sweet, kind Neb?

[LoopStationZebra]

What's the meaning of Mr. Green?

I prefer the text versions over the conversions ... to me the pics are like something an admin in a cubicle plastered with pictures of her cat would overuse in passive-aggressive e-mails telling you to keep the breakroom clean.

Plus, you're quite better off with your imagination as far as my nakedness is concerned.

Mr Green = Envy = how we all feel towards Neb.

As far as naken chicks go, let us be the judge of imagination vs reality.

[nebulae]

Great post, mikemc.

I would add to that, the smiley face should have some rules. Some people overuse it. Other's only use it when they're just kidding. I think the rule is somewhere in the middle. You can use it to say "Just kidding" or to simply smile at someone.

I sometimes distinguish I'm kidding with a wink ;)

And when I banter with Tod and tell him that he's sexual deviant, I use the tongue-stick-out :P (but that's also because I want him to pretend that I'm licking his balls)

[beats me]

My only comment/issue is when somebody follows their own statement with "lol". Any preceding statement that may have been funny is completely ruined by them laughing at themselves as either a sign of insecurity or thinking they're more clever than they actually are. The statement should stand on it's own and if the reader doesn't get it or gets offended then fuck 'em. I don't need "wasn't that funny?/aren't I cute?" cues.

I'm talking strictly of the text lol, not the emoticon.

Here's some tits: (@V@)

[Mrs. Nebulae]

I actually like the tits. Can't see an occasion to use them however ...

If lol is so annoying, then why isn't the addition of any emoticon? Isn't adding lol after a sentence the exact same thing as a laughing emoticon ... i.e. here is what i wrote and now i'm laughing so i'm gonna add lol.

[nebulae]

I actually like the tits. Can't see an occasion to use them however ...

Oh I can. For example...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... jo3RK2_Aps

(@V@)

[LoopStationZebra]

My only comment/issue is when somebody follows their own statement with "lol". Any preceding statement that may have been funny is completely ruined by them laughing at themselves as either a sign of insecurity or thinking they're more clever than they actually are.

...or....they don't have an enormous stick up their ass the size of a redwood. lol.