What do these weird combinations of punctuation marks I see frequentlyin people's messages mean?
Description
This article is from the Singles FAQ, by Trygve Lode tlode@nyx.net with numerous contributions by others.
What do these weird combinations of punctuation marks I see frequentlyin people's messages mean?
These are called "smileys" since the most common ones used are
little pictograms representing a smiling face: ":-)". Because
the net is inherently a text medium, it lacks many of the
nuances of ordinary face-to-face conversation like facial
expressions and tone of voice, so people try to make up for
them in various ways, the most popular being the "smiley."
Standard smileys include:
:-) :) smile 8-) B-) smile w/ glasses
;-) wink :-> ironic/lecherous smile
:-( sad/unhappy :-O surprise
There's an ongoing debate as to whether smileys are a good
thing or a bad thing; some people like to use them whenever
possible, others feel that writing should stand on its own
without having to point out whether something was supposed to
be funny or not.
You'll also note unrepentant programmer types adding variants
of C compiler directives to their posts or use parodies of HTML
tags to clue you in on the deep, inner feelings that lurk
beneath the facade of their words. For example:
#dripping_sarcasm_mode(ON)
and
<VOICE="Bela Lugosi">Good Eeevening</VOICE>
In general, it should be pretty obvious even to the
non-programmer what the writer means to convey with these
directives.
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