We have deleted two smilies

ZTD

sodamnfunky wrote: »

I just find it incredible that they think by deleting them, those will not be used again. It will just make people use them more. They are so obviously available elsewhere.

It is the well worn path trodden by those with a paucity of imagination, and a voluminous but vacuous sense of their power to change others. The most famous people to go down that path, were the Spastics Society - who then trod on the "Scoper" landmine.

Don't get me wrong - if you expect Martin to change his mind, you are wasting your time here. There has been no occasion I can think of where he has. On the perfection scale - out of 10 - his perfection moves to 12 (One better than Spinal Tap).

However, if you are here to prove, by existence, the futility of expunging sarcasm by expunging little icons - then perhaps you are not wasting your time.

The attentive may notice me using no smilies. Therefore this post is not sarcastic.

Premier_2

I maybe wrong here, and please excuse if if I am, but I always considered that smilies (or emoticons) were an invention used in email or internet chat to express emotion or feeling of the writer at that time, not to offend others.

The problem was that when people were chatting on forums, messaging sites or in casual emails, the reader was not often able to otherwise comprehend the writers emotions or feelings at that time because of the complete lack of other factors that people often use to better understand the message being delivered e.g. vocal tone, facial expression, etc.

For example,

I'm going!

should mean something very different to

I'm going! :mad:

The words are identical, but the smilies are there to indicate the difference in intended meaning, an intended meaning that would be much easier to comprehend when a person says those words in your presence as you have the added ability to take into context not only the words spoken, but the vocal tones, facial expressions, body language, etc.

Consider likewise an example such as:

I'm sorry, I simply don't understand what you said.

Without the benefit of expressing feeling, emotion, vocal tone, etc, that can mean many things and can be taken as extremely rude and offensive, or simple confusion on the writers part as they have not comprehended the words used (English may not even be the writer's first language), or simply a failure on the part of the writer to grasp a complex principle trying to be explained (such principles are never that complex to those explaining them).

(I used to have a science teacher who once told me that he knew when I had actually understood something he was trying to explain to me by looking at how my eyes reacted! - strange but true.)

As others have said, if people are easily offended by smilies, they really should consider whether an internet forum is the right place for them to be, as without them, the possibility of taking offence is far greater due to misunderstanding of the intent of the writer.

I do agree that there are some words where the meaning is clear cut, and surely it is those who post such offensive terms towards others that should have action taken against them, rather than bet that removing a couple of smilies will help.

What action to take is rather difficult to say. The problem appears to lie in the fact that the forum team, whilst doing a tremendous job in the circumstances, are restricted by resource issues. To PPR a user is not the solution unless resources are made available for the team to identify duplicate new user accounts before they can be used to create more disruption on the forums.

becky_rtw

I like smilies theres a few more we could have too, but at the end of the day (please dont bash me peeps)...it is his site and we always moan about changes and they dont ever really change much (alright this is me admitting that I was wrong about moving the run club over diaries I like it better over there - less newbies )...

We'll get used to it

grannybiker

I regularly used rolling eyes and confused, which is why I now miss them!
Usually in a self-deprecating way! In fact, I challenge you to trawl through my posts to find one where I've been rude to another poster!
A classic case of punish the majority who behave in a perfectly reasonable way when there are one or two who abuse the system - and sadly, will continue to do so whether they have a sarky smiley or not!
It would be interesting to do some research on the number of rude / impatient / offensive posts that haven't included any smillies, then compare the results with posts that have used the now veto-ed smillies.
Sorry, not offering, life's too short!

P.S. Did we have an answer about what would happen if we used smileys imorted from "Outside?" I must have missed it (cue roll eyes, silly old me icon!)

ZTD

becky_rtw wrote: »

I like smilies theres a few more we could have too, but at the end of the day (please dont bash me peeps)...it is his site and we always moan about changes and they dont ever really change much (alright this is me admitting that I was wrong about moving the run club over diaries I like it better over there - less newbies )...

We'll get used to it

Indeed we will - but newbies, the target of such "protection" will not - by definition. Which does always seem to be the way round here.

becky_rtw

Sorry Z *blushes* I was being facetious about the newbies

ZTD

becky_rtw wrote: »

Sorry Z *blushes* I was being facetious about the newbies

Don't you be using smilies now. The Post Police will come round and cane you. If you ask nicely.

becky_rtw

How nicely do I have to ask?? *starts making mental calculations of worth of whipping versus being nice*

Pretty pleassssssse

Numpty_Monkey

ZTD wrote: »

It is the well worn path trodden by those with a paucity of imagination, and a voluminous but vacuous sense of their power to change others. The most famous people to go down that path, were the Spastics Society - who then trod on the "Scoper" landmine.

Don't get me wrong - if you expect Martin to change his mind, you are wasting your time here. There has been no occasion I can think of where he has. On the perfection scale - out of 10 - his perfection moves to 12 (One better than Spinal Tap).

However, if you are here to prove, by existence, the futility of expunging sarcasm by expunging little icons - then perhaps you are not wasting your time.

The attentive may notice me using no smilies. Therefore this post is not sarcastic.

Not sacarstic :think::whistle::T

the rest
in simple words please

Ames

I'm now coming across posts with rollseyes just written in. Same effect as a smilie without the smilie!