Using emoticons in your messages

R

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
I do not understand or use them at all. Just like I believe in full English with proper spelling and punctuation.
Some people seem to talk entirely in symbols.
I would be too afraid of getting the meaning wrong as many signs are puzzling. I do put kisses, according to who I am writing to - even then it is a matter of care to use the right number of them, if at all.
Sometimes the emoticons insert themselves into Messenger, or at the slip of a tap - then I am mortified! But my friends understand when I explain.

Do you understand and use these heiroglyphics?
 

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Yes I use them and don't worry about it. I do my best to make wise emoticon choices and at times get silly with them. They are not to be taken too seriously.

We are all just human and no where perfect. I don't feel responsible for wrong impressions someone may derive. People sometimes read things into them and I can't help what they are thinking. That's why they are not to be taken too seriously 😳
 
Before forums I had no knowledge of emoti-wotsits. They are not something that I would use but I do remember seeing a forum outburst, not here, it was just as I was looking to see what was worth a second glance. The outburst was shocking, the expletive tone peppered with profanities. However, the recipient was not about to engage in such diatribe, this was the reply:
moon.gif
If you click on it......................It did amuse me.
 
Rose65 said:
I do not understand or use them at all. Just like I believe in full English with proper spelling and punctuation.
Some people seem to talk entirely in symbols.
I would be too afraid of getting the meaning wrong as many signs are puzzling. I do put kisses, according to who I am writing to - even then it is a matter of care to use the right number of them, if at all.
Sometimes the emoticons insert themselves into Messenger, or at the slip of a tap - then I am mortified! But my friends understand when I explain.

Do you understand and use these heiroglyphics?
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:unsure: Well now... :confused:. Now that I think of it, 😻 I guess I do like them. 👩‍💼👨‍💼🕴️
 
Rose65 said:
Do you understand and use these heiroglyphics?
Click to expand...
Oh, absolutely I do! The only ones I try to stay away from are the "anger" ones because although I would be using them as anger regarding the topic, they could be misread as anger against the poster. The few times I do use them, I try to remember to add a note that the red face is for the topic, not the person posting.

I think it makes a post less boring and I like finding those cute little faces to show whether I'm giggling 🤭 thinking :unsure: shocked 😲 laughing like a mad woman :ROFLMAO: or even getting annoyed. :rolleyes:
 
Rose65 said:
Do you understand and use these heiroglyphics?
Click to expand...
I've seen discussions, and even arguments, over emoticons here. In the not too distant past there were a couple of threads where they were discussed at length on this forum.

On some forums a numbering system is used to rate the posts of others. It is usually 1-5 with 5 the highest rating.

When all we have is the written word we lose tone of voice and other clues available in the spoken word that contribute to understanding. I think the emoticons are just little tools to help indicate meaning and promote understanding, that's all. I am always surprised when they become an issue.

They are not an issue for me.
 
It's best to use what you are comfortable and confident with to communicate. I just play it safe as I'm not awfully technical. Even in texts I use full words but try to be brief. None of that texting shorthand for me.

I still know people who will only speak on the phone or meet in person. They own a very basic mobile, not a smartphone. That is being too old fashioned really. We do have to keep up to a functional extent.

There is actually a great deal of etiquette that has grown with the internet. It is still very new for humans to communicate like this, in the span of history, being mainly invisible, silent and anonymous!
 
Pepper said:
When I don't use emoticons I seem to get in trouble. I must remember to do it more often. Emoticons may be misunderstood but so can words. I do my best, that's all I can do.
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It's the best anyone can do. The times that I have read, and re-read my reply before posting, click post reply, only to see some stupid error, a word missed out, a mis-spelling or an ambiguous remark. It's as though I never learn.
 
1*Ywq9yJ8z_Bx4UZRQwN5afA.png
Emoticons help our stories...or maybe start telling them for us. :eek:
 

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