Emoticons - opinions and advice?

Ted_Bloke

For most of the strictly financial forums the emoticons provided at the forum site are more than sufficient, but at a few like Discussion Time and MSA we cover quite a range of personal, lifestyle, existential, political etc. topics and a wider range of emoticons is useful. At any rate I have found myself using quite a lot in recent months. I am not greatly computer literate and think I discovered where these emoticons hid and how to post these and other images only this year.

Finding. In the first place just googling for ‘emoticons’ and several providers come forward. Some very witty and apposite ones can be found. But sometimes what I need is not among them. Then I google e.g. ‘emoticon drowning’ or ‘emoticon sneer’ and half the time something roughly what I want will come up. But half the time nothing does or what you get is not really le mot icon juste (hey how about that? © !!). You butt into some weird sites and discussions looking around like that. Half of what comes up are those steam emoticons they used to make with ordinary characters e.g. O>-</, snowboarder , really belongs to when computers were for nerds.

But then when they are in the providers I have saved, even if I know what I want is in there, and even if I have used it before, it can be hard to find. Many of these resources are pretty poorly organised for finding what’s there. I’ve started to make a list now of where each I want to use is to be found. You may say if you are going to use them often just upload them to imageshack. That brings me to how you

stick them on a post
The official line is you upload them to imageshack and can easily use them. Well that is a pants method. I have seen people ask here and been told ‘Oh it’s simple’. It’s so simple there are pretty few such emoticons here, we know what it means when computer geeks say ‘it’s very simple’.:wall: If you ask I will tell you. And apart from the stultifying procedures you can sometimes be logged onto the imageshack site for hours, after you click 'My Images' it says ‘imageshack hosting’ and there is a thingy whirling round inside a circle for ever. You just have to come back later in the day.

It really is not what normal people want, you want to just drag and drop from or save and paste from the emoticon provider onto your post. I found I could most often do that so why bother with the imageshack contortions? Trouble is I recently had doubts if they are then stable. Coming back to a not very new not very old post
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=6328088&postcount=50
that had 3 icons, I found it them (actually medals I award for courage, virtue or bravura e.g. to myself) replaced by a red x. So I have half reverted to using the tiresome imageshack. A thing I then noticed was that some of the animated emoticons are animated only for a short time. This flirty one
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=6518059&postcount=15
blinks, but only about four times. Same for this sigh. So if you open at the page you will see it. But if you arrive scrolling down reading other posts you will not see it, and a lot of the point is lost. E.g. you will see it again on the above if you press the refresh button. I think. I don’t know whether this is because of the emoticon or imageshack or what.

One way and another it is all too time-consuming and a bit chancy.

Another thing I wonder about imageshack is can anyone get from the image to the shack where I keep them and get hold of my e-mail address or identity?

I wonder what are other people thoughts, experiences and advice?


I found while preparing this page at some site:
"My internet life will never be complete because there is no appropriate emoticon for an incredulous snort accompanied by an almost-polite sneer." Me too – I need sneers a lot considering the people I debate with you understand. These are not very good IMHO. Any suggestions?



sneer

meher

webby team - can I have one of those emoticons of throwing pillows in response to Ivan's posts and one hammering head to be used exclusively in response to Ted's posts. Actually if I may add to my wishlist I'd like one I protest placard to respond to MTC. Thanks in advance

Murphy_The_Cat

meher wrote: »

webby team - can I have one of those emoticons of throwing pillows in response to Ivan's posts and one hammering head to be used exclusively in response to Ted's posts. Actually if I may add to my wishlist I'd like one I protest placard to respond to MTC. Thanks in advance

like this ?





p.s. Ted, if you use Firefox, I can send you a link to a good source of free emoctions.

Ted_Bloke

meher wrote: »

webby team - can I have one of those emoticons of throwing pillows in response to Ivan's posts and one hammering head to be used exclusively in response to Ted's posts.

Here's what you need meher.

Ted_Bloke

I am also finding that animated emoticons like the aforesaid (is that animated when you look at it?) when uploaded into imageshack after rightclick which gives you the upload option, are not animated anymore but just which is dull.

Ted_Bloke

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

like this ?





p.s. Ted, if you use Firefox, I can send you a link to a good source of free emoctions.

I do not use firefox so has that shot it?

Murphy_The_Cat

meher, what about this one


this one would be completely unsuitable



Ted, its a shame that you don't use Firefox, its rather splendid