smiley's, which would you like here first?

Problem is I can imagine using most of these in any sentence.

WHAT THE F@~@ ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Where?, You cant read these? Fortunately 'Pound colon, minus one' (Frankie) doesnt apply to me.
The last four were applying to almost every sentence I was writing up until the last 24 hours or so, in which case Ive dropped temporarily to a more personal rather than an all-things to all-people state.

Kristal_Rose: Sorry, I don't know what dialogue you're speaking in but I just haven't a clue what you're talking about! Not a clue!!

In the "Problem..." comment, I was only referring to the fact that it would make sense to me to use most of these smileys in any comment. Did you at least understand that much.
Why is a seperate issue. Maybe that's the part you didn't understand.
Did you really mean dialogue, or dialect.
This "Problem.." comment also has the distinction of kind of being said to the air, hoping someone might here it.

excerpted from USEFUL INTERNET EMOTICONS - Dave Barry In Cyberspace, Crown Publisers, Inc. 1996
:=D Person laughing
:=D* Person laughing so hard he or she does not notice that a large spider is hanging from his or her lip
8-0-(&) Person just realizing that he or she has a tapeworm
.-) Person who can still smile despite losing an eyeball
:0-WW Person vomiting a series of Slim Jims
:V:=| Person who cannot figure out why nobody wants to talk to him or her, little suspecting that there is an alligator on his or her head
~oE]:=| Fisherperson heading for market with a basket on his or her head containing a three legged octopus that is giving off smell rays
:-[-()f Person who is none too pleased to be giving birth to a squid.

I'm in tears laughing. and I get it. by the way I was going to place a link to your alien clip art site, but the server and link was down.
Suddenly I'm pro-abortion.

Bon soir. my ami.

SORRY, I don't understand what a smilie is? I don't know what(%)is, nor Atomic fusion. This is all foreign to me

Sorry, I meant dialect!!

none. We have enough already.

None of these is particularly attractive, though it seems to me the sour lemon squeeze would be useful around here.

I thought was shocked, or saying "woah."

yo, iox (k'ssr) should be there too. <>> My Father was Jewish.
(%}- is a dialect i wish wasn't spoken, & those who speak it dont need to know about (*) anyhow.

I think whether or not new smileys are added should be up to bill.

Quite true. He said he could be swayed. Im volunteering my efforts, and looking for a concensus that will save us both too much work.
And if he's not interested, at least I've extended our text vocabulary.

/\/ ;) =@?

Well, why don't we see just how frigging complicated we can make this!?!

Wicksy - You are not alone in your lack of understanding.
Jody - Thanks! I needed a laugh!! Dave Barry rules!

Im sorry, i dont expect any of you to become symbolists, mystics, or metaphysicians. Those are the languages that come easiest to me, and i'm still looking for a compromise language rather than settling on a lowest common denominator.
If any of you could interpret the characters, im impressed, but i really only hoped to see what kind of unspoken sentiments people might wish to express. Though i admit, amongst other goals, id really like to turn this into a hyper-dimensional algebra equation.

I think it would be better to approach this from the opposite side. What words and phrases and emotions do SC users often express? Would an icon be appropriate in place of that? What would it look like?
I think yawn comes the closest. Bleh would be good, though I think it's copyrighted. An icon for "this survey sucks" might be useful.

bill - hey - the "this survey sucks" could be typed with an "o" and a "-" (o and hyphen). It could turn into a lollipop (sucker) to indicate the suckage of the survey.

0---

How about this: 0==[__] to indicate a vacuum cleaner (sucking).

[o-] a sucker in a vacuum

bill: by providing an easy way to say something, you are encouraging them to say it.

drdt - "Them"? Are you trying to say you NEVER think a survey sucks?

Well, whatever the text used to produce it, I think a "Mr. Yuck" face (the ones you get on stickers from poison control) would make a great icon for suckage.

SB: Not at all. I frequently think a survey sucks. You can tell I think a survey sucks because I rate it 'bad'. I just don't bother to say so out loud unless I see my comment adding value to the discussion. I don't think the 'this survey sucks' icon will encourage me to say 'this survey sucks' more often than I currently do because I already have a one-button way to say it.

However, people who enjoy saying 'this survey sucks' sometimes don't bother because the effort to say 'this survey sucks' isn't worth the minimal gratification you get from belittling a fellow human being over the internet. However, with an icon, it would take about one-tenth the effort to belittle them, and that will increase the number of times people will think the gratification is worth the effort.

But that wasn't my point. My point was that if bill makes an icon for 'this survey sucks' he is encouraging negative comments, unless he also makes an icon for 'this survey is great'. But if he does that he also cuts down on the dialogue, because instead of expounding on how they feel about the survey (and generating discussion), people will use the appropriate icon and move on.

How about a this survey showers icon?

What the hell???

Okay, maybe I just don't get it...

drdt, you can never underestimate the gratification you get from belittling a fellow human being over the internet.

If they truly understand any belittling i'd offer, then they either know i was misinformed, or they deserve it.

<3

heart...

jaff: <3     as long as its not upside down. Qty. of decent proposals. Glenda the good witch, a rocket in take off.
3'     Om   dad,kid,ðer   'the Empress'   a trinary star.

I'm sorry you feel that way. I wish I understood why.

seven: This is true, there is no way I could underestimate it. So why do some people put value in it?

people..SCARE me.....

BOO!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!

<((^..^))>
" "

dis is ma bat.

drdt: brilliant, brilliant!!
HAL0:KR1

Halo Batty

Aroo! what is Kr1? ;)

A score: dave? .. what are you doing dave?...

I don't understand what you're asking.