“…When I see a smiley, my first thought is, “What are you, 12 years old?” What is it about the emoticon that fills me with such loathing? Maybe it's the wastefulness of the enterprise, the redundancy of it, the implied lack of confidence in the writer's ability to communicate, or mine to comprehend. If you say, “I'm looking forward to seeing you tonight,” I think you're looking forward to seeing me. If you say, “I'm looking forward to seeing you tonight. :-),” I think you're not sure I understand the extent of sentiment in that seven-word message. And if you write, “I'm looking forward to seeing you tonight ;-),” I think your assumption of getting laid this evening may have been a bit premature, Winky.” — Mary Elizabeth Williams (Salon)
the examples are critical to the reaction. I use smilies as additional content — sometimes, where the construction of the message is such that the tone (e.g., self-deprecating, not snide) could be unclear, othertimes, in place of “bummer” or “smooches” or other addenda, or where the recipient is indeed a mild enough acquaintance that their reception might need guidance. less is more, but sometimes clarity is better than hard feelings . . .
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