david_h wrote:
I was playing to walrii's reductionism. Even a Spartan might raise an eyebrow.
fatmac wrote:Also wish more people would use the 'smilies', as it makes posts clearer, where there may be misinterpretation owing to global location.
THANK you. And it's a favorite topic of mine. I use them, but not because I think they're pretty or all the rage; I use them in the event that there might be reader misunderstanding without them, or to emphasize my emotional state. Sometimes I use them as david_h did above, leaving words out of it. There's nothing wrong with that. Detractors say that good writing shouldn't need smileys, and I agree in principle, but it also ignores the fact that through no fault of their own, some will never have the knack for good writing, so to blow that horn on a message board is sheer snobbery, pure and simple. Message boards are a different kettle of fish, because you're often responding
directly to others of all types, as if in face-to-face conversation. Sometimes even the best writing cannot be equal to the need for a conversational degree of nuance on a Board like this, and wouldn't a good writer recognize instances when there might be such difficulty? After all, snideness might be mistaken for sincerity, or vice versa. Either way, in that case communication has failed. A good writer wouldn't leave the poor reader to guess, and too bad for them if they don't get your drift. In that case, why are you even posting? Simply to admire yourself? No matter how rich your vocabulary, if people can't understand your supposed subtleties, that can never be good writing whether you use smileys or not. I could manage without smileys, sure - we all could - but that's no reason for saying I ought to. Used well, they can help save a lot of time and misunderstanding. If someone looks down on me for it ... oh, well. Maybe they should try someone who cares, instead.
And see? That didn't require any smileys at all.
![smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile_144.gif)
(oops...)
But there's also the opposite end of the spectrum, where some people do overuse and group them in a parade to the point that they lose their meaning altogether. And some don't even seem to have a clue that the smiley they chose is supposed to have an actual, specific meaning; it's just there, and for who knows what purpose. Don't care for those cases at all, myself. And sometimes there's just no call for it whatsoever. There was one case where I was having a group texting session, and upon learning that one of us was going skiing, another posted a downhill skiing emoji in response. I don't want to be harsh, but... c'mon. That was just plain vapid, never mind the waste of bandwidth.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician