# smileys (emoticons)



## sb70012

Hello,
The smileys (emoticons) available in this forum are so few and less than other forums.
I wish the administrator would add some more, so that the thread starters or other could use them in different circumstances.
What's your opinion? 

Thank you.


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## JamesM

That's an interesting thought.  I am one of the people who use them because I think they help to communicate the emotion behind the text.  I had never really thought of having more of them.  I don't see why not.


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## Cagey

What do you have in mind, sb70012?

Which emoticons would you like to see, and how would you use them?


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## sb70012

Hello again everybody,
Well,.... Cagey, there are some missed in this forum. I can't really tell you which one is needed. But I can say that the smileys of WR forum is too less than the other useless forums. WR forum is a wonderful and active forum and one may not expect it to have few smileys.
For example, look at this link of English Literature forum:
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/misc.php?do=getsmilies&editorid=vB_Editor_001

or look at this link of UsingEnglish Forum:
http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/misc.php?do=getsmilies&editorid=vB_Editor_001

In my opinion, smileys used in WR forum are too less than the other forums

Thank you.


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## JustKate

Speaking not as a mod but as a regular member, there is such a thing as too many smilies, and I'd say both of those pages qualify, SB. A few more might be nice, but that's... that's just silly. But of course the decision isn't mine.


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## JamesM

I'd have to agree.  The function of WordReference forums is primarily as a research resource, not as a chat board.  Many of those emoticons would make sense in a chat room but I don't think they add much to a description of a word or phrase. 

And, as JustKate says, it's not my choice.  I'm just speaking as another member here in this thread.


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## Peterdg

The only emoticons that I use are:        and very seldom  and that's more than enough.


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## Beryl from Northallerton

I agree. We already have too many. Speaking as someone with no known sense of humour, I feel scarred by what I've just seen. 

As an EO moderator, I'd say they serve a useful function in facilitating communication with those whose English is basic, but otherwise, I'm not a fan. 

Even among the comparatively few that we have here, I've found that there is insufficient consensus around what they're supposed to mean.

I find these three especially confusing:    (well avoided Peterdg!) - the first of which reminds me of a polar bear from the 1970's.


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## JamesM

Peterdg said:


> The only emoticons that I use are... and that's more than enough.



I'm about the same with the addition of  and , which can come in quite handy at times.  (I can't imagine why you would need a Mona Lisa morphing to a smiley face, or even what it would mean if I saw it.)


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## Julvenzor

I would also like more smileys, they allow to create stories: I have an idea , go ahead  and lose yourself . Caution , it's a joke , don't think bad of me .


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## Parla

I'm in the we-have-quite-enough-thank-you column. We are, after all, about _words_; as James points out, we're not a chat room. An occasional welcoming smile  or pat on the back , even a rueful  or puzzled  can sometimes come in handy—but please don't turn the forum into a cartoon.


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## Hector9

At first, I'd have agreed with your idea of having more smileys.

But then I though that if it's easier to express your emotions through smileys, you won't have the need to express them in words.

And that is, precisely, in my humble opinion, what these forums are based on. Words.

Reading is a great part of the language learning process. So, the more we read natives and non-natives writting in their mother language, the better.

For me it also adds a pinch of seriousness to the forum, and that's something I like about it. I'd not like it to become similar to a chat room. "_If it ain't broke, don't fix it_"


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## sb70012

If you think that we don't need more smileys, then you should accept that some smileys are obscure.
As:
 = ??
 = ??
 = ??
 = ??
 = ??
It could be better if some of these five could be replaced to some other clarified smileys.


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## JamesM

If you hover over those smileys they give their names, sb70012, which are usually the emotions associated with the image.


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## JustKate

I'm a bit puzzled: Why would adding even more smileys make for less obscurity? Just looking at the first link SB provided results in a veritable smorgasbord of obscurity. What does the little driving guy mean? And the banana? And the one that looks like a shivering ice cube? I *adore* the little alien, but what does it mean? 

And do we really need a cartoonish way to tell someone "Ugh, your comment makes me want to throw up?" It turns out there is one! 

If we want to replace some of our smileys with smileys that are clearer in meaning, that would be fine, but I expect that's actually pretty difficult to do.


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## sb70012

JustKate said:


> If we want to replace some of our smileys with smileys that are clearer in meaning, that would be fine


Yes, I meant this.


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## JamesM

As far as I know, all of these smileys are based on ASCII smileys.  The ASCII versions have been around since the 1980s, long before smartphones or texting.  The only one I've never really understood is the "tongue stick out" one.  My son uses it all the time when texting.  I think it's rude; he thinks it's playful and friendly.


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## Parla

> The only one I've never really understood is the "tongue stick out" one.


Same here! Hovering over it doesn't give an explanation, either, simply a description. I've never used it, and I can't imagine an occasion when I'd do so.


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## perpend

I think the key message is that the smiley is in eye of the beholder.

For realsies. I ain't kiddin'.


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## ewie

I'm fairly happy with the emoticons we have, though I've never seen the point in having both  and . (I also find this one  extremely unclear.)
Yes, those two forums in post #4 have _far *far far*_ too many (I did like the 'flogging a dead horse' one, though ~ that would come in _very_ handy for English Only)


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## danielfranco

I propose that we ask for all emoticons to be removed, add the percontation point, and just plain ironize each other instead.


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## JamesM

danielfranco said:


> I propose that we ask for all emoticons to be removed, add the percontation point, and just plain ironize each other instead.


Like_ that _would work.


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## roxcyn

I love the dancing banana one.  It makes my day.


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## Parla

I used to use the old "smile" along with a welcome to a new forum member. I don't use the new one; it looks more like "confused" to me—while the one for "confused" looks more like "deranged". And the faces all have weird little underscores. Is it possible to return to the old set of emoticons? Please?


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## Beryl from Northallerton

Parla said:


> I used to use the old "smile" along with a welcome to a new forum member. I don't use the new one; it looks more like "confused" to me—while the one for "confused" looks more like "deranged". And the faces all have weird little underscores. Is it possible to return to the old set of emoticons? Please?


Request seconded!!! I agree with every detail of Parla's post, and have stopped using them altogether.


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## DonnyB

I've never been a heavy user of smileys, but I'm _beginning_ to get used to these new ones.

The smile itself , which is the one I use most often, seems to me to represent what it's supposed to mean clearly enough.


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## Myridon

Parla said:


> And the faces all have weird little underscores.


The artist has decided that disembodied heads cannot float in the air but must rest on the ground (or a table? a fence?).  Makes me think there must be headless stick figures running around somewhere. I wonder if I can summon them with the right codes: -<-< (walking headless stick figure)


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## Lurrezko

I just can't answer any more threads without the dancing banana.

Un saludo


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## Loob

Here you go, Lurrezko....


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## Lurrezko

Loob said:


> Here you go, Lurrezko....



Thank you! It's just what I needed to ruin my battered reputation once and for all.


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## swift

Lurrezko said:


> ruin my battered reputation once and for all.


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## JamesM




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## perpend

I don't read lips. What, pray tell, is the yellow M&M saying?

Actually, wait, it seems like a Jewish M&M. It seems to be saying "oy".


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## Beryl from Northallerton

Loob said:


> Here you go, Lurrezko....


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## perpend

I think ruining reputations takes a little more of a stronger approach.
















































I wonder if they are Chiquita. I like them too, Lurrezko. I will go down with you and your reputation. This reminds me of pom-poms and that hamster website of yore.

Maybe animated smileys are beneficial for society? I wonder what Freund would say about this one, though.


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## Beryl from Northallerton

I see you're a fan of ikebanana, perp. Any Freund of pompom's is a friend of fedoras, as far as I'm concerned. 


perpend said:


> I wonder what Freund would say about this one, though.


See Freud's favourite joke.


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## perpend

Okay, well I'll see my psychotherapist about that one, it might take a few weeks.

The odd thing that I need therapy about is that your #34 banana seems to be coaching the ones in the #35 row.

It's really better than most TV. Did you get your banana to choreograph mine? For the record, that wasn't in the contract.


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## Beryl from Northallerton

Don't blame me. You'll need to go a little further back to see who unleashed the banana. I blame Darwin.


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## perpend

ikebanana can probably be attributed to Darwinian logic. He/she exhibits alpha-male characteristics, but the dance style ... ugh ... that's sort of iffy.


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## Parla

But seriously: Any chance of bringing the old emoticons back?


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## perpend

I am deeply invested now in the new emoticons. I heard a piece on NPR and technically they are "emogees".

Go figure.

So.....don't go back, WR. Just don't.


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## Beryl from Northallerton

I think it's clear that some members would appreciate the choice, ie. not 'either / or' but 'both'.


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## perpend

Does XenForo support both?


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## Beryl from Northallerton

See post #34. I imagine there may be copyright issues though.


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## perpend

I don't think you can really go back to the previous forum (+ smilies) of choice, so you have to move on, no?

I am doing the two-step to the new forum, so don't rain on my parade, Beryl. (Okay, rain a little.)


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## siares

Hi,
where are the emoticons, please? I've seen a page where they are explained before, but it seems I can only find it when I am not trying to.

I just now discovered that one of the smilies, whom I thought 'coy', was actually 'roll eyes'!
I just can't read smilies at all


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## Cagey

Click <the> smiley icon above the reply box.
The smileys appear in a row below the box.
There is also a link under 'Help / FAQ' that shows you what they are, and how to produce them using keystrokes -- in case you find that easier.  


< Edited to add missing 'the'.  Cagey. >


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## siares

Many thanks, Cagey


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## Loob

perpend said:


> I don't think you can really go back to the previous forum (+ smilies) of choice, so you have to move on, no?
> 
> I am doing the two-step to the new forum, so don't rain on my parade, Beryl. (Okay, rain a little.)


I don't think anything's set in concrete, perp.  I can't find the posts at the moment, but I'm sure Mike has said he'll look at the current set of emoticons if people feel, after getting used to them, that they really don't like them.

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PS.  After getting used to them ... I really don't like them.

_[EDIT: adding PS]_​


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## perpend

Dunno Loob! I think in the meantime that the emogees were outsourced, and you know what happens then.  Lions and tigers and bears. 

I am willing to tame these new emogees, gosh darnit.


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## Parla

It's_ emoji._

And I still want the old ones back.


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## siares

I've come back to this thread to have a look at the dancing banana. On my computer, it is not dancing anymore. That makes this thread, if not the whole Forum, pointless.

I've never used smilies except for  before this forum. 

How does one indicate that an upcoming statement is a joke?



Julvenzor said:


> it's a joke


Would this be OK before the joke? Does it turn any sentence, funny or not, into a joke?


JamesM said:


> I think it's rude; he thinks it's playful and friendly.


I agree with both these opinions simultaneously.

Please rewrite my sentences/smilies completely. (I mean them as _jokes _and I want the smilies/word order to reflect my intention):
All forum members are morons.
All forum members are morons.
All forum members are morons.
All forum members are morons.

Which one is best?


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## EStjarn

siares said:


> All forum members are morons.



This one is visually the better choice in my opinion. The faces of the yellow emoticons aren't distinct. I have to hover over them to reveal their actual "meanings". Not so with the Stick Out Tongue emoticon. As to putting it at the end of a remark, I suppose it's how it's normally done, kind of like an exclamation mark. You wouldn't start a sentence with an exclamation mark—not in English, that is.


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## perpend

As far as morons go, we are all morons, right? 

siares, Can you see these dancing bananas?

















































I hope so.


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## velisarius

siares said:


> but it seems I can only find it when I am not trying to.



That sounds so familiar to me. I'm still pretty lost in the Forum too. Do you know the book _Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There_, by Lewis Carroll? Alice (in Chapter 2) found that in order to get anywhere she wanted to go, she had to set off in the opposite direction.  The most elusive of emoticons - nobody knows what it means. I use it for "ironic".


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## siares

perpend said:


> Can you see these dancing bananas?


They were dancing when I opened. Now they are not. I went to previous page to check them, the tomato and M&M were moving, the bananas were not. M&M is also upset about the lack of dance.



perpend said:


> As far as morons go, we are all morons, right?


True dat.



EStjarn said:


> As to putting it at the end of a remark, I suppose it's how it's normally done, kind of like an exclamation mark. You wouldn't start a sentence with an exclamation mark—not in English, that is.


Yes, but my moron statement was short and the reader would have perceived the smilie along with the sentence. If the sentence were longer, the reader could have been scarred for life _before_ noticing the smilie.

And JamesM thinks these are rude - him being a credit to his guild, and lovely, ; his opinion should count.

Are you comparing smilies to punctuation marks, EStjarn? Sacrilegious.

As to: "you wouldn't": English is too stingy with punctuation marks; although that is not its biggest problem. What's up with articles, English? I am yet to hear a compelling reason as to why they are needed.
I sh,all not be limit!ed by an silly rules.



velisarius said:


> Do you know the book _Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There_, by Lewis Carroll? Alice (in Chapter 2) found that in order to get anywhere she wanted to go, she had to set off in the opposite direction.


I do! Alice is up there with Hamlet



velisarius said:


> The most elusive of emoticons - nobody knows what it means. I use it for "ironic".


If I were Sherlock Holmes, I would deduce you need glasses, Velisarius.  clearly means 'pretentious moron'.

e: not fond


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## velisarius

Are the bananas dancing though perp, technically? They are moving everything but their feet. "Energetically swaying bananas" might be more precise.


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## siares

I was wondering how international  is. Are there countries where the gesture has a different meaning than the forum's one?


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## Beryl from Northallerton

siares said:


> I was wondering how international  is. Are there countries where the gesture has a different meaning than the forum's one?


I've often wondered that myself. I've not had any complaints about it as yet, but that's not to say that people haven't been secretly offended by it.


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## siares

Beryl from Northallerton said:


> secretly offended



Hopefully they are not secretly offended, just secretly mystified.


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## Myridon

perpend said:


> I am willing to tame these new emogees, gosh darnit.


The word is "emoji".  The emoji set is built on Japanese anime memes which can result in some confusion.
For example, one emoji which some people use for "crying" actually means "sleepy." What looks like a tear is actually a snot-bubble (which represents snoring in anime).
http://emojipedia.org/sleepy-face/


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## perpend

Emogee, eschmoji. I won't let them be the boss of me. I will determine what they mean.  (That means watch out for perpend, emoji-san.)


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## Wordsmyth

Parla said:


> I used to use the old "smile" along with a welcome to a new forum member. I don't use the new one; it looks more like "confused" to me—while the one for "confused" looks more like "deranged". And the faces all have weird little underscores. Is it possible to return to the old set of emoticons? Please?


Seconded!


Loob said:


> PS. After getting used to them ... I really don't like them.


Seconded!


EStjarn said:


> The faces of the yellow emoticons aren't distinct. I have to hover over them to reveal their actual "meanings"


Seconded!

Ws


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