Are smilies necessary?

[Joe]

Obviously not. Sticking a smiley at the end of a post says two things:

1) I have said something funny, so please respond with 'LOL" and lots of smilies.

2) I have said something rude, but by sticking a smiley on the end of my post I show that I 'didn't really mean it', and if you take offence, you just have no sense of humour.

So, the answer is clear. If your humour needs an indicator that it is humour, it's not funny enough, and if you are being rude, sticking a smiley on the end of your rudeness is just a cop-out.

[awkwardbydesign]

Tell that to Marco!

[struth]

Definitely needed... can change the whole outcome of a post.:steam::ner::D:mental:

[Oddball]

I was on the PC from the early days .
At a difficult time in the farming industry during foot and mouth , I was introduced to MSN Messanger and that involved smilies , and at the time it was a great way to give a wink or a cheeky laugh after the written word. My point is , the written word does not always convey the true meaning or intent , when its read by someone else.
Hence the smilies .
However ,a whole page or 2 of smilies can be a bit annoying , as I consider the basic ones to be adequate

[Jimbo]

Yes a written statement or post never does convey the same meaning as a real conversation so emoticons hopefully help relieve some of the doubt as to the message being conveyed and the Emotion behind it.

Don't think anyone can confuse :steam:with:lol:

[walpurgis]

Nobody is forced to use smileys, but they have their purpose.

Could the original post be regarded as somewhat patronising? ;) :lol: :eyebrows: :eek: :rolleyes: :scratch:

(and of course that can possibly be taken with or without smileys)

[CageyH]

Obviously not. Sticking a smiley at the end of a post says two things:

1) I have said something funny, so please respond with 'LOL" and lots of smilies.

2) I have said something rude, but by sticking a smiley on the end of my post I show that I 'didn't really mean it', and if you take offence, you just have no sense of humour.

So, the answer is clear. If your humour needs an indicator that it is humour, it's not funny enough, and if you are being rude, sticking a smiley on the end of your rudeness is just a cop-out.

:scratch:

[CageyH]

Only kidding, but I think that they can get used too much.

The same as this......

[jandl100]

Yes a written statement or post never does convey the same meaning as a real conversation so emoticons hopefully help relieve some of the doubt as to the message being conveyed and the Emotion behind it.



Yup, I agree.
And as stated by Jimbo, they are not smilies, they are emoticons. They can convey negative as well as positive emotions.

So you need to use the right emoticon.
Richard / ABD's original Joan Armatrading posting that initiated this thread had a rolleyes emoticon, indicating impatience and dismissal of another's viewpoint on his part, with nothing to alleviate that. Which was entirely contrary to the message he was intending to convey, which was humour. Personally, I got very negative vibes from that.

[awkwardbydesign]

Yup, I agree.
And as stated by Jimbo, they are not smilies, they are emoticons. They can convey negative as well as positive emotions.

So you need to use the right emoticon.
Richard / ABD's original Joan Armatrading posting that initiated this thread had a rolleyes emoticon, indicating impatience and dismissal of another's viewpoint on his part, with nothing to alleviate that. Which was entirely contrary to the message he was intending to convey, which was humour. Personally, I got very negative vibes from that.
So smileys are as open to misinterpretation as words, then. I used it to denote silliness!

[jandl100]

So smileys are as open to misinterpretation as words, then. I used it to denote silliness!

Yep!
Interpretation is as much about context as about the actual words/symbols used, I guess. And in the context of that post I immediately got a bad feeling of something nasty having been posted, entirely inappropriate to the thread up until then. Which I am happy to accept was an incorrect interpretation on my part - but given what was posted and its context that's what I felt.

[awkwardbydesign]

Blimey, in context? I would really appreciate it if you could explain (in simple language) exactly what you imagined I meant. I honestly can't see how you could take that as being nasty. Making a (silly) joke about Joan Armatrading? Nasty to whom? I know the usual humour tends to be Marco's inappropriate sexual innuendos, but how could you get offended by my tongue in cheek offering? Bizarre!

[jandl100]

It was the rolleyes emoticon that did it, not the words you posted. The words would have been fine if accompanied by a wink. The rolleyes made it seem sarcastic / dismissive to me.

That was just the way I felt about it at the time - my own personal immediate reaction.
I suspect that Marco felt the same way, given what he posted. Others didn't, probably. Fine - I'm just saying about my own reaction.

[awkwardbydesign]

Oh, I see. To me the rolleyes smiley is very similar to the wink, just less twee. But you've seen my posts; have I ever been nasty to anyone who wasn't nasty to me first?

[jandl100]

By the way, I'm an awkwardbydesign fanboy - I enjoy your posts here and on the Wigwam. :thumbsup:

---- well, usually! :lol:

[jandl100]

Oh, I see. To me the rolleyes smiley is very similar to the wink, just less twee. But you've seen my posts; have I ever been nasty to anyone who wasn't nasty to me first?

Our previous 2 posts overlapped, now seen the above.

Nope, as previously stated, I see you as a strong positive on the forums.
Just a different interpretaion of an emoticon seems the problem here.

.... just imagine someone you actually meet rolls their eyes at something you say. If that were me I'd regard it as a bit insulting. That's the way I regarded that emoticon in your post.

[struth]

Yup; the :rolleyes: can and does get interpreted differently, as can the ;) on occasion. one man's rolleyes is another man's wink and vice versa. A lot of the time, you need to really read the message a few times to catch it. I, in fact picked up on Richard's true meaning re JA straight away, but I do see how it could easily be seen differently; I have problems with it and rarely use it.

Noow can we :kiss::kiss: and make up.....



....in a manly way of course; I don't want that misinterpreted ;)

[archiesdad]

I think that the emoticons can be used in the same way that tone of voice is used in speech, to convey feeling/meaning to the reader/listener, am I making sense or talking out ma hat.
although sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words:bag:

[awkwardbydesign]

By the way, I'm an awkwardbydesign fanboy - I enjoy your posts here and on the Wigwam. :thumbsup:

---- well, usually! :lol:
:o

[trio leo]

I usually sign of with "enjoy your music" and I put a smiley, because I'm a nice guy and and I mean I really want you to enjoy your music, hopefully as much as I do.
If we start getting pedantic and too grammatically focused we may lose the upbeat, friendly ethos this forum is known for and could become bitter and twisted like some forums.

have a nice day :)

Al

[struth]

I usually sign of with "enjoy your music" and I put a smiley, because I'm a nice guy and and I mean I really want you to enjoy your music, hopefully as much as I do.
If we start getting pedantic and too grammatically focused we may lose the upbeat, friendly ethos this forum is known for and could become bitter and twisted like some forums.

have a nice day :)

Al

Well, thats you on the black list of some fora;)

[Marco]

Yup, I agree.
And as stated by Jimbo, they are not smilies, they are emoticons. They can convey negative as well as positive emotions.

So you need to use the right emoticon.

Richard / ABD's original Joan Armatrading posting that initiated this thread had a rolleyes emoticon, indicating impatience and dismissal of another's viewpoint on his part, with nothing to alleviate that. Which was entirely contrary to the message he was intending to convey, which was humour. Personally, I got very negative vibes from that.

With no offence meant to Richard, Nail > head - I couldn't agree more! ;)

I shall comment more on this thread later, as we've got friends in just now visiting.

Marco.

[awkwardbydesign]

I shall comment more on this thread later, as we've got friends in just now visiting.

Marco.
Oh God, no!
(No smileys)

[Marco]

:lolsign: :ner:

Marco.

[Audio Advent]

I think that the emoticons can be used in the same way that tone of voice is used in speech, to convey feeling/meaning to the reader/listener, am I making sense or talking out ma hat.


Sense.

So rolleyes for example expresses something like "typical!" "what an idiot!", "here we go again!" etc as in face to face communication BUT... I can see that they are similar to that quick look upwards accompanied with a light hearted tut and a smile BUT the eyes definately roll around so should be the former. I think the only thing that winds me up on posts are dismissive roll-eyes, more than the words. Irrational I know but there's a free tip for winding me up ;)

Emoticons are vital. How can sarcasm or dry humour be possible at all without them? If good humour doesn't need them to make sense... then I'd question one's sense of humour entirely compared to my tastes.

[struth]

[QUOTE=Audio Advent;717470]Sense.

So rolleyes for example expresses something like "typical!" "what an idiot!", "here we go again!" etc as in face to face communication BUT... I can see that they are similar to that quick look upwards accompanied with a light hearted tut and a smile BUT the eyes definately roll around so should be the former. I think the only thing that winds me up on posts are dismissive roll-eyes, more than the words. Irrational I know but there's a free tip for winding me up ;)

Emoticons are vital. How can sarcasm or dry humour be possible at all without them? If good humour doesn't need them to make sense... then I'd question one's sense of humour entirely compared to my tastes.[/QUOTE

:rolleyes:

[Audio Al]

:):D

[Audio Advent]

Ha! I know what you're doing .... and it won't work.



:steam: (He can't even close a square bracket properly.... )



;)

[struth]

;) oh ] .:)

[walpurgis]

http://i68.tinypic.com/sl2zqt.jpg

[goraman]

SAVE THE SMILEYS!!!!
There cute.:eyebrows: