Use the smiley face

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Posted By: <b>jay behrens</b><p>There seems to have been a few posts recently that were made in jest but taken the wrong way by the intended targets. The thing that all these posts have in common is that the poster did not use a smiley face or anything else to indicate that it was meant as a joke. <br /><br />The written format is not a good format for conveying tonal inflection, facial expression and other indicators that in normal conversation would clue people in that you are kidding. This is why emoticons (smiley faces, etc) were developed. This way, you can convey a sense of emotion without spelling it out.<br /><br />I'd strongly suggest that anyone that wants to make a post that is meant as a joke or friendly jab at someone, they need to place a smiley face or something else at the end of the post so people know you are kidding. <br /><br />I use them all the time and rarely has anyone ever confused a joking post of mine as a serious one. Usually, those that make the mistake aren't familair with how to use emoticons. If you are going to be a regular user of internet forums, learning about and how to use emoticons is an absolute must.<br /><br />Jay<br><br>I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: <b>Cobby33</b><p>I agree with Jay- it is very easy to not get someone's tone over email/message board.<br />The little smileys are sooooo "chat room" though- but I guess there's no easier alternative.

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Posted By: <b>Judge Dred (Fred)</b><p>Great idea Jay.<br /><br />Here's a good example of using emotocons.<br /><br />BONDS is a steroid user that needs to be kicked out of baseball!!! Just kidding Jay <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> <br /><br />

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Posted By: <b>Gilbert Maines</b><p>Jay the Peacemaker -now Ive seen everything! <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14><br /><br />

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Posted By: <b>john/z28jd</b><p>I think this smiley face works the best <img src="http://www.onlybucs.net/ems/rsmile.gif">

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Posted By: <b>Cobby33</b><p>How about "LOL?"

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Posted By: <b>BcDaniels</b><p>"here we go again!"<br /><br /><img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

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Posted By: <b>David Vargha</b><p><font color=blue>I disagree completely. If someone is wound so tightly that they take offense to my sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek postings, then I feel that I am doing my duty in getting them riled up. There are too many people who are middle-aged collectors of pieces of cardboard that they pay astronomical sums for that take themselves far too seriously. It's a stinking Internet chat board about cardboard and paper! Geez, lighten up folks.</font><br><br>DavidVargha@hotmail.com

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Posted By: <b>klad kalash</b><p> If there is an emoticon that can accurately express my hatred of emoticons, I would use it here. My parents and teachers spent a lot of time and energy in teaching me the English language, and using those horrid emoticons seems a betrayal of both the language and the people who taught me how to write a sentence. Writing sarcasm is infinitely trickier than speaking sarcasm, so unless you're really really good at it, the best advice may be this: say what you mean and mean what you say, and screw the emoticons. <br /><br /> For the congenitally sarcastic, this is difficult advice to follow, and they will always get into trouble on message boards. <br /> <br /> That said, I love 19th Century cardboard and a love this message board! I lurk every Sunday morning. <br /> <br />

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Posted By: <b>Cobby33</b><p>One of my personal favorites <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

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Posted By: <b>martindl</b><p>Jay said "I use them all the time and rarely has anyone ever confused a joking post of mine as a serious one."<br /><br />Jay, we don't take any of your posts seriously so your little smiley is neither here nor there. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

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Posted By: <b>runscott</b><p>Jay, you sorry SOS. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=20 width=20><br /><br />Edited to remove anonymity

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Posted By: <b>joe</b><p>I think I'll start to use them, don't want to get on jay's badside.<img src="/images/wink.gif" height=14 width=14><br><br>Ty Cobb, Spikes flying!

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Posted By: <b>BcDaniels</b><p>yours look dot matrix. hey,send me your e-mail address in Seattle!<br /><br /><br /><img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14><br />

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Posted By: <b>Paul</b><p>I just used a sad & then happy face in another post. I must be an emotional wreck!

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Posted By: <b>Griffin's</b><p>Good idea, an emoticon can be worth a thousand words<br /><img src="http://jl-picard.redtotalonline.org/foros/style_emoticons/caritas/puke.gif"> <img src="http://homepage.mac.com/thurber51/.Pictures/Grading%20Mishaps/1895Shindle.jpg">

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Posted By: <b>jay behrens</b><p>I am fairly decent writer, but most people today have short attention spans. If you get over verbose, they will start to skim and eventually quit reading. This is why newpapers articles are written in reverse pyramid form. You get the general scope of the subject right away and more and more detail if you care to read on, which most people don't. Hence the reason newspaper articles are written this way. <br /><br />Using emoticons allows a person to shorten up what they are writing and convey the sense of emotion that they want to get across in a quick and dirty fashion.<br /><br />Jay<br><br>I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: <b>BcDaniels</b><p>"I am fairly decent writer" <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14><br /><br />ok!

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Posted By: <b>jay behrens</b><p>well, spelling and forgotten words becuase I think faster than I can type are a problem here becuase I am to lazy to spell check or proof read anything I post, but if I have to write something serious I can do very well. <br /><br />Jay<br><br>I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.