a) Intrinsically know what it means
or
b) Look it up
then
c) Use it myself.
When it comes to emoticons... Not so much. I pretty much only have these at my disposal:
:) to show I'm happy
(or sometimes a :o) for extra emphasis)
:D to show I'm really happy
:( to show I'm sad
:'( or :') to show that made me shed a tear
;) as a knowing gesture (but honestly, I always wonder if maybe people take this as a "just kidding," thus negating my comment.)
..... AAAAAAAAand that's it. My emoticon vocabulary is seriously stunted. And let's face it. Sometimes you're leaving a comment on someone's blog, and you just need something more than a smile, frown, or a wink. I need an arsenal! Not a plastic bow and rubber arrow!
Or are you as emoticon illiterate as I am?
(And will someone pretty please explain what the letter J means?)
.
28 comments:
I am not much for emoticons beyond the ones you used here. WE had a guy in our World of Warcraft guild who used to punctuate everything chat with :P I think it's another form of a smilie, but I always viewed it as him sticking his tongue out at everyone, in a smug sort of way (I didn't like him very much), which was entirely in keeping with his personality.
No idea about the J thing.
lol this is awesome.
Okay what I know (Added to yours) isn't a lot, but I'll put them here.
:P is someone sticking out their tongue, whether friendly or not (sorry JeffO, but you were right).
:* is sending a kiss
XD is major LOL - your eyes are closed and mouth is open
((PEGGY)) have wrapped my arms around you for a hug
%( i send this one when I'm frustrated - it looks like the person has been knocked out lol - but then again, I like to box.
o_O for confused - hate this one
and then my fave is the wink ; ) I use it cause I flirt with everything - even rocks. so why not flirt virtually?
Have a great day, Peggy!
I usually go with ;^) when I wink. And for some reason I always hear that "tongue click" sound when I type it.
I also like :oP because it looks goofy.
I'm with you on the limited emoticons. In addition, I use:
:oS which is a confused one
:o| which is a deadpan look
and :oP which is a playful sticking my tongue out.
Can't say I've ever seen a J before.
Funny post. My standards are:
=D
O_o
<_< (sideways glare--in case you can't figure it out. lol)
I am emotionally stunted.
:)
:(
and
haha
are my emotions :)
I'm pretty much just a :) user.
I did, however, do some research (ARGH, what does that say about me???) Here's the explanation for the J. When you type in the smiley face in regular Microsoft programs, you know how it will turn it into an actual smiley face? Well, come to find out that smiley face is also created in the WingDings font when you type the letter J, so non-Microsoft compatible programs just registered it as a J, not a smiley face.
Oh, 0_0 is my favorite. Maybe because it means "stunned," I think, and that's how I feel most of the time.
I'm also loving
8D - Deliriously happy and
XD - Crazy excited can't-stop-grinning happy
Then there's >.< which is sometimes a wince or sometimes a pinched little smile.
But really, I just like words best. Oh. And hearts. <3
lol! I use the winky either when I'm being sarcastic or if it's a knowing thing, sometimes the text has to help a little! I use the :s to mean oh my goodness I don't even know if I should have said that! And the :p to be like well there's my tongue, so yeah.. Sometimes I use ^_^ or ^_~ if it's in parenthesis and I don't want to put double at the end. I think that about covers it, oh yeah and I put a <3 if I love you!
Wow, Tasha knew that one! Go Tasha! I have no idea on any of them except :) and :). That's all I got. So do I need emoticon therapy?
Um, let's see:
:-) - smile, grin
:-( - frown, sad
;-) - winking because...well..not sure why.
;-P - sticking my tongue out because I'm being silly
<3 - heart, love
yeah...that's pretty much my emoticon portfolio
LOL. This is so funny. I am a little stunted and I'm taking notes from all the comments. I did know the J thing since my co-worker sends the smiley in e-mails and it's always a J until the whole e-mail appears. I tend to use the smiley wink all the time. ;0)
funny! As long as you're not stunted in you real life emotions, you're good.
Funny - my dad always told me to "look up any word you don't know". He suggested using a small sheet of paper as a bookmark, and writing the words I didn't know on it. That way I could continue to read and look them up later. :)(Yes - I just used a smiley) As always, a pleasure to read your blog.
I've never actually used an emoticon before. I can basically work out what other people are saying in theirs, but as to using them myself? I prefer to let my words do the work.
Looks like you can really expand your emoticon collection with all the suggestions in these comments.
I use them all the time when texting or on Facebook.
Once upon a time, when I was an internet chatroom geek, I used to be emoticon savy. Now I just stick to the basics like you do!
I only know the normal emoticons because I never got into chat. I wish I could do some of the really creative ones though!
I think J means smile. I know that if you copy/paste one of the circular smiley faces (like this: ☺) from a program like Word into a plain text editor like Blogger, then it will change to J. Maybe people are just using it instead of :) or something?
Fun topic. I love smilies, but I fear I'm limited to :) and :D *sigh*. I do have an app on my phone which will insert all kinds of funny faced fellows into a text or email. I've got no clue what J is supposed to mean. I've not seen that before.
JeffO-- That's hilarious! I think you're right- the :P can mean different things, based entirely on your personality.
Bonnie-- Good ones! I have to admit, I always wondered what all the extra parentheses meant. I'm totally going to sleep better tonight knowing that. I'm not even kidding. And why do you hate the o_O? Sometimes I think that's exactly what I want to express!
Joshua-- Ooo! An emoticon that comes with a sound! I love it!
Iain-- :o| just became my new favorite emoticon. I can't wait to come across a situation where I can use it!
Donna-- I love the equal sign with your smiley face! Something about the colon just doesn't quite look right to me. And thanks for the explanation on the sideways glare-- I totally wouldn't have figured it out. Stunted, you know.
Kelley-- Me, too! I use hahaha ALL THE TIME. Never lol. But occasionally hehehe or Bahaha. Methinks maybe people crack me up quite often...
Tasha-- You did research?! I love you forever.
Leigh Ann-- Ooo! Stunned and wincing! Do you know how happy this makes me? 8D with a side of XD. Thanks!
J.A.-- I love how you really spelled them all out! That's exactly what I needed. <3
Jessie-- Yes, you definitely need emoticon therapy or you are going to be stunted forever. :o| (Check it out, Iain! I used it! Possibly not correctly, but I used it!)
Angela-- Hahaha! Emoticon portfolio! Love it. And I love how you use the wink with your tongue sticking out. Makes it more fun!
Jenny-- I know! I think I need to make a list and hang it next to my computer until I get them down. And I love the zero in your smiley! ;0) is so cute!
Prerna-- Whew! Thank heavens for that!
Kimberly-- That is great advice! I used to keep those long skinny post-it notes in the back of every book so I could mark places where I came across words I didn't know, but I haven't done it in years! I should start again.
Imogen-- It's like learning another language! It's easier to understand it than it is to speak it. :)
Nancy-- I use them all the time, too! Only it's just the same ones... I guess that's akin to talking with only the same five words. See? That's why I need to increase my emoticon vocabulary!
Lan-- Oh, no! It's one of those if-you-don't-use-it-you'll-lose-it kinds of things? Dang.
Alleged Author-- I am committed... COMMITTED, I tell you, to use some creative ones! (And now I wish I had an emoticon with a resolute face. Sigh.)
The Golden Eagle-- I once saw J in an agent interview. The interview was probably written in Word! It all makes so much more sense now.
CherylAnne-- I don't have a phone app, but I do like the emoticons in Instant Messenger. If the picture ones were available everywhere, I'd be set!
I am right there with you. Sometimes, I just do completely random ones like I'm inventing my own...
:%O
This means "I have a bad cold"---these will all be done for us as soon as Siri takes over the world.
You know way more than I do, so apparently I'm even more stunted than you :)
Back in the day of Yahoo's IM, emoticons were a huge thing. I'm just not. I'd much rather explain how I feel than flash a goofy little graphic face!
love emoticons =)
but i am limited in comments. who needs more than a smile?
well, i do like
=P
Between gaming and frequenting forums, I've picked up on most of the emoting language. In fact, I might list it on my resume... ;)
...Okay, so I was kidding about the resume thing. Have you seen people use emoticon-Kirby (the puffy pink character from early NES games)? (>'.')>
Christa-- Oh my gosh- that killed me!! LOVE it!
Susanna-- All you really need is the smiley face, anyway. :)
Jay-- Apparently I like flashing. :D
Tara-- You and me both! =P
Carrie-- I'm a little jealous of your mad emoticoning skillz. And emoticons as complicated/awesome as Kirby? That should definitely go on your resume!
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