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In Defense of the Smilie Face [Bloggin’ on the ETC]

For a while there, I wasn’t using smilie faces. At first they were cute, but then people started abusing them, unspeakable things were typed, and then tons of column ink got spilled about how literate folks should just hate the smilie face and how it made others think less of you. So I stopped using the smilie face.

But then a funny thing happened on the way to trying to become a better onliner, I realized that the smilie face is damn handy and really practical in a lot of commenting or email situations:

For example, there’s no better way to let someone know that it’s all fun and games when you say, “Fuck you. You are a bitch. :)”

Really, there’s just no non-smilie face, non-convoluted way to pull that line off without possibly hurt feelings. Believe me, I’ve seen others try to do it. It didn’t go well. The smilie face might not be particularly literate, but it guarantees that people will always get that you are joking — which is important if, like me, a lot of your humor is rooted in sarcasm and hyperbolic insult.

Also, is there any better response to a perturbing-but-not-exactly-disturbing post about something some celebrity/politician/random dude did, said, or claimed than :-/

And I particularly love “:-O” as opposed to “Ooh, cute!”

As much as people bag on smilie faces, you have to admit that they can be really useful at times. I think the secret lies in moderation.

Why are you such an asshole? :) = YES

Why are you such an asshole? :) :) :) :) :) = NO

In general, it’s a good idea to only have one emoticon in any post or missive. Otherwise, I think we should all feel free to avail ourselves of smilie faces, especially if we’re being sarcastic or joking.

But what say you on this controversial subject? Sound off in the comments.