# Warn vs Warning in generic smilies



## audia

What is the difference between  warn and  warning. Is one for explicit language and one for moderators? Is there concensus?


----------



## TrentinaNE

Good question, audia.  I haven't seen much use of the  icon.  In the IT-EN forum, we have specified how to use the  icon to label potentially offensive terms.

Elisabetta


----------



## Etcetera

The same with the Slavic Languages Forum - we only use  to mark swear words and the like. Maybe because it's more bright and less likely to skip unnoticed.


----------



## mkellogg

I really should get rid of one of those two to speed download times by a few milliseconds...


----------



## TrentinaNE

Well, if we get to vote, Mike, I'd say delete   and keep  .

Ciao,
Elisabetta


----------



## mkellogg

If we are all in agreement that we like one over the other, then everything's good.  I'm just waiting for somebody to say that in some other forum, they use the opposite symbol.


----------



## maxiogee

mkellogg said:


> I really should get rid of one of those two to speed download times by a few milliseconds...



I'd second that, and offer  as unsuitable for these pages and would ask if we need  — I don't think I've ever seen it used. What does it do that  > or —> doesn't? Had we a mirror-image of it I might see why, but one without the other seems odd.


----------



## ILT

In Sp we use  and  indistinctly to warn others of offensive terms. We wouldn't miss  at all.


----------



## Bienvenidos

I use  all the time just because I didn't know that  existed. Now that I look at them both, the second one is more inviting, while the first stands out more (makes the better point). 

I always use  when pointing out a *BE CAREFUL NOT TO MAKE THIS MISTAKE *phrase. Like  Careful! This phrase means, "I am an egg," NOT "I eat an egg." Bad example, anyway:

*My conclusion is*
1. If you want to get rid of , that's okay, and it would be great if it helps the server, too. But I do use it a lot, and that's just because I didn't know the other one existed.
2. We could get rid of
    -
    And even:  ; I don't see it much, but if someone who is reading this uses it, please don't take offense to me offering to delete it! 

These are only icons, so whichever one we keep is fine with me. 

I just want to mention that I put a lot of smilies to make my post brighter but of course I forgot about the 8 per post rule so sorry if my post seems bland. (Smiley face would go here if I could put it here. Another smiley here.)

And finally, one more here.


----------



## DearPrudence

You're right, I find this  particularly ugly and fortunately I can't remember ever having seen it (if I need such a thing I prefer a classic "->"). I've seen this one  , maybe once or twice but I'm not particularly fond of it (I guess it's because it doesn't happen to me much  ). I suppose it's only because I'm on the French forums but I've never seen this one  and graphically I'm not fond of it  
Voilà, voilà, just my opinion but please, keep green grin alive


----------



## .   1

I must be an olde worlde nudge but I really can't see the point of any smilies. 

There is nothing wrong with a little rofl or a 

I have noticed on small forums that an excessive number of smilies really slows downloads.

This is a language forum and I find smilies to be the equivalent of canned laughter or prefabricated signs handed out at sporting events.  There is no thought or creativity with smilies.  It is just a mouse click to quote somebody else with a prepackaged emotion.  What's the point? ;(

.,,


----------



## Bienvenidos

I just think they show a touch of personality, make things less boring. (Not that anything is boring to begin with.) 

 

Besides, if ya got 'em, use 'em!


----------



## ElaineG

> This is a language forum and I find smilies to be the equivalent of canned laughter or prefabricated signs handed out at sporting events. There is no thought or creativity with smilies. It is just a mouse click to quote somebody else with a prepackaged emotion. What's the point?


 
One useful aspect of smilies (though I would survive their disappearance) is that they can help emphasize tone, which is often misread on the Internet, as every user of this forum can attest.

Another useful aspect of canned smilies such as those available here is that they tend to discourage the creative use of >>>>------)))) and the like, which would be a true plague, and cause this moderator, at least, to go into some sort of apoplectic shock.


----------



## Bienvenidos

ElaineG said:


> One useful aspect of smilies (though I would survive their disappearance) is that they can help emphasize tone, which is often misread on the Internet, as every user of this forum can attest.



 Great point!
This is one of the greatest uses of the smilies. 

*Example:

EXAMPLEUSER101:*
Hi guys. I have another question for you; I know I ask them all the time, but this one is important. 

I have to say this to a co-worker.

Is it correct to say, "You, right here, have them" in a sentence?

Thanks for all your help, once again. 
Luis
*
SAMPLE RESPONSE:
*
No, Luis. You really messed up. A lot.

It's, "You have them right here."

Try harder next time.

*
SAMPLE RESPONSE 2:

* No, Luis.  You really messed up. A lot.  

It's, "You have them right here."

 Try harder next time.

The first seems harsh and brutal. The second shows a playful, joking and sincere attitude, maybe between Luis and a forer@ he has known for a long time in the forums. 



ElaineG said:


> which would be a true plague, and cause this moderator, at least, to go into some sort of apoplectic shock.



Ahh! We don't want that to happen! So we will make sure that that *doesn't *happen.


----------



## vachecow

I agree that there is really no use for  .  I think anger is something we try to avoid.  

Unless its being used sarcastically, but I haven't seen that much/at all.


----------



## .   1

vachecow said:


> I agree that there is really no use for  . I think anger is something we try to avoid.
> 
> Unless its being used sarcastically, but I haven't seen that much/at all.


I agree.
If this  was not available there would be less bent noses in this joint.

The forum rules forbid personal attack.

How can I be allowed to use a  frownie but be deleted and possibly banned for saying "I am  at you" or "You are  "? This is  ness.

 or  are more than negative enough in a multicultural forum.

Sarcasm is dangerous at the best of times but sarcasm using automatic pictures or more critically the sarcastic use of icons of indeterminate interpretation is something that would require so much literary and diplomatic skill that the person possessing such skill would never stoop to an ugly hieroglyph to make a sarcastic point.

People are more fun to converse with than automated software or macros.

.,,
I prefer eloquence and originality over spell checks and mechanization.

EDIT:  I was required to edit this post as the maximum allowable number of smilies is eight.  This means that there is some form of load on the process and if the loss of the smilies were to make the forum run with more ease I can not see enough reason to continue using the things.


----------



## DearPrudence

I still think they are important to convey the tone that you can't hear when you read something. But well, I won't repeat what has been said



. said:


> I agree.
> If this  was not available there would be less bent noses in this joint.
> 
> The forum rules forbid personal attack.


I don't use it much but it happens that sometimes I'm quite angry with some things, not with what a forer@ has said but with some uses of language or attitudes maybe but I will never insult anyone, I just have to accept the world the way it is without even uttering a swearword or aiming at anyone.



. said:


> :red cross: or : thumbsdown : are more than negative enough in a multicultural forum..


Yes, I agree there are negative and I avoid doing:
"Norman, 
'I caned spoken not englisch'  or  "
I only try to use it for my own sample answers to try to explain something, saying that one thing is not correct. I'm sorry but in language, those kinds of things happen.
And an example here (let's note I didn't use that green arrow and that I've made a very careless mistake  )

I can't remember having used  (apart from my own suggestions maybe no more than a couple of times) but  a lot, which is a bit more catchy than : thumbsup : or "well done" (even if it doesn't prevent me from also writing a little comment. But OK, next time, if someone has managed to write "my name is Norman" correctly in French I will write: "Wow, I think your French is wonderfully superb, where have you learnt to master the language so well? I think we should build you a temple and lick your feet to show our submission to your superiority  (= Hey, just kidding  ))

Anyway, I suppose such smileys are not much needed in the cultural forums but I think they can make things clearer in the language forums ...


----------



## geve

mkellogg said:


> I really should get rid of one of those two to speed download times by a few milliseconds...


A technical question: If you do that, does that affect threads where this icon was used? 
I think I've seen some rather old threads where a link appeared in lieu of a smiley that maybe you had removed in the meantime... If so then is it technically feasible to assign the  icon to both codes :warn and :warning? Just for the ease of read. Of course it's not that big a deal, since apparently the  isn't used very often...



. said:


> There is nothing wrong with a little rofl [....................] What's the point? ;(


There IS something wrong with "rofl": it's an abbreviation. I could write "mdr" but how can I be sure you get the idea?
And I don't understand your ;( - how can you possibly be winking and sad at the same time? 

I prefer that we all use a small number of expressive icons, rather than we start writing things like "rofl" in the language forums or people make up their own customised smileys that only they understand.


(And I must confess that I use this one  quite often - in PMs!!)


----------



## ElaineG

> (And I must confess that I use this one  quite often - in PMs!!)


 
Me too!  For example, when speaking to a fellow mod after cleaning up a thread full of chatspeak .


----------



## KaRiNe_Fr

I must confess I always use this one  into the language forums for three four five six main reasons:
it's graphically smarter than the other one
it's an international warning symbol known by all the drivers
it doesn't share the same primary rounded shape than the other smilies
it's located at the bottom of the smilies list-box, and -call me a masochist- I love using the wheel of my mouse (or my touchpad)
I don't want to disappoint Mike expecting someone would say the opposite about this smiley
combining this smiley with the green grin, you can make up a brand new symbol expressing madness:



(Ok, ok, only the first three reasons are valid...)


----------



## maxiogee

KaRiNe_Fr said:


>



That's great KaRiNe. I wish I'd created that.  <—That's the smiley I never use! Best use it while it's here.


----------



## TrentinaNE

KaRiNe_Fr said:


> combining this smiley with the green grin, you can make up a brand new symbol expressing madness:


Actually, that's the most convincing argument I've heard! 

Hmmm, how else can we combine smilies to new effect?

 
 for "I challenge you to a thumb-wrestle"?


----------



## DearPrudence

* DP on mode repeat - beginning of the interruption *

Me again  
Just to add that even if you don't understand the language, you can see the intention of the writer thanks to those visual & international smileys, as you would hear the tone or see the face of the other person if you spoke with him/her.

Then I had overlooked .,,'s "rofl" which I don't understand (excuse my ignorance  ). On the French forums, it happened that someone wrote "mdr" (= lol) and that some forer@s didn't understand what it meant (I was among them at first) and sometimes you "lost" three posts explaining what it meant, losing sight of the original question ...
I don't use smileys to make my messages look pretty but to convey things that would be too long or anything to express with words ...

* DP repeat mode - end of interruption *


----------



## .   1

RollOnFloorLaughing

.,,


----------



## mkellogg

I just tried to delete a few smilies and, yes, it does affect previously placed smilies as geve suspected.  This is too much of a pain to work on now, but I might come back to the issue and delete them in a week or two if I find a good way to do it.


----------



## la reine victoria

Grrr!

Just practising.

LRV


----------



## geve

mkellogg said:


> I just tried to delete a few smilies and, yes, it does affect previously placed smilies as geve suspected. This is too much of a pain to work on now, but I might come back to the issue and delete them in a week or two if I find a good way to do it.


Now, now, don't pull that face or you'll get all wrinkled. 
Is it possible to make the code appear when the related icon was deleted? Ie. to have *: warning :* written where posters had used the  icon? It would be less obstrusive than http://forum.wordreference.com/images/smilies/warning.gif...


----------

