Does anybody else just despise emoticons?

[Z of the Na'vi]

XD...etc, etc.

In the past, I didn't really mind them so much, but now, I abhor the sight of them. From a personal standpoint, they just seem to me like a way to instill silliness and...well, dare I say, immaturity, into a topic of discussion. More often than I'd like I'll be in a conversation with a user on these very forums and they'll insert one of those damn emoticons. At that point my entire train of thought it disrupted and I just don't feel like continuing the conversation anymore.

What sparked me to created this thread was a text I received from a friend of mine:

Me: "Bored at work."
Him: "That will be me in an hour XD"

So...am I to believe that he is sitting there laughing his damn ass off at the prospect of going to work? Ugh.

Provided I'm not alone here, I'd very much like to hear some other opinions on the matter.

[sub]That and I'm bored as all hell at work.[/sub]

 

[Able Seacat]

There is no emotion for what I am feeling. I don't mind them so much myself but I can understand where your coming from and someone is gonna use one soon you know.

My pet peeve is when people chew with their mouth open and smack their lips. All my rage.

 

[Ljs1121]

If one's thrown into a sentence just because like in your friend's text message, then I absolutely hate it.

However, they can be useful to display happiness or friendliness. I use the "" one quite a lot for that purpose.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

If one's thrown into a sentence just because like in your friend's text message, then I absolutely hate it.

Yeah, that's more of what I was talking about, actually. He does it a lot, too. Namely "XD".

I just...when I see them used like that I feel like all the integrity of the statement has been thrown out the window in favor of using a silly face rather than conveying exactly what you are trying to say in a cohesive manner. Perhaps I am being a bit dramatic, but it really wanes on me after a while.

I can understand where your coming from and someone is gonna use one soon you know.

I'm prepared for the worst.

 

[Rawne1980]

I pay no attention to them.

My only irritation is "text talk".

If people can't be bothered to type out full words then I can't be bothered to respond to them.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Given that properly conveying exact meaning text is hardly a perfect science, especially when you're talking about standard text message type language, I see nothing wrong with using emoticons. They're very useful as both shorthand and to put certainty to meaning in where there may be confusion. I do prefer the basic set though.. there's no point in using an emoticon when the meaning of the emoticon itself is possibly going to be lost in translation.

That said, I generally find them pointless in more involved writing, even on message boards, the vast majority of the time. If you've already got all of the space you'd likely need to properly express your message at your fingertips then typing a message up in such a way that an emoticon is necessary just seems lazy.

 

[farscythe]

i dont mind them.
but in all fairness thats mostly because i tend to write things out a lil to bluntly and a or a at the end of a somewhat off sentence helps me to not offend to much..

(basically i cant trust text to bring across the same meaning as words+facial expression would and the emoticons take the edge off)

 

[EscapeGoat_v1legacy]

I know I've been getting into a tendency of using the odd ones on this forum, mostly to show friendliness, but I can't say I've ever been all that bothered by their presence all around the place and I certainly don't take them seriously. I mean, in your example, it looks like your friend is simply using it to inject a little light relief into the prospect of going to work, not seriously implying that the prospect of going to work is a point of incredible humour.

Also, this:

More often than I'd like I'll be in a conversation with a user on these very forums and they'll insert one of those damn emoticons. At that point my entire train of thought it disrupted and I just don't feel like continuing the conversation anymore.

...I dunno, that just seems really petty. I don't mean to be rude, or anything but still. I mean, yeah I get it. It's a pet peeve; of course it's incredibly irritating to you and it's tough to focus on something other than it. But, should it warrant that kind of reaction? It's an innocuous little aside; hardly a basis on which you then just cut off a conversation. If it's a quirk or habit of a User, is it not rather rude to then see it and shut yourself off from them or otherwise shut them down?

 

[Fractral]

I don't really care if people use them or not. They can be useful for telling someones intentions, and they are also a quick way of conveying a meaning; for example, you could just write ':0' rather than 'I'm shocked' or something along those lines. That said, If possible I avoid using them because I dislike the casual feel they give to a piece of writing. Its sort of like slang in that respect.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

...I dunno, that just seems really petty. I don't mean to be rude, or anything but still. I mean, yeah I get it. It's a pet peeve; of course it's incredibly irritating to you and it's tough to focus on something other than it. But, should it warrant that kind of reaction? It's an innocuous little aside; hardly a basis on which you then just cut off a conversation. If it's a quirk or habit of a User, is it not rather rude to then see it and shut yourself off from them or otherwise shut them down?

Alright, I'll give you that one. Perhaps that is a rather piss-poor reason to stop conversing.

I suppose what I meant in my opening post was more of people substituting emoticons in favor of articulating their words to just outright say what they mean. It's fine if somebody were to use one to at the end of their post to say, add some light-hearted nature to the post in question. What I mean is...here, I'll show you an example of what irritates me.

--
Me: "Hey."

Friend: "What's up man? "

Me: "Not a lot. Just playing *insert game here*."

Friend: "Sounds like fun XD mind if I join you? "

Me: "I suppose not. Sure."

Friend: " Sweet, be right there! XD"
--

It might seem like I'm exaggerating, but these are the kind of messages I receive daily. That's also how I send messages/texts on a daily basis. Am I in the wrong by not including emoticons when I "talk"? Do I sound emotionless and robotic by not including them? I'm just conversing back and forth, and I didn't have to use emoticons to do it effectively.

Like I said, there's nothing wrong with them when used sparingly, but I find it hard to believe one can sit there and read my example above without feeling the slightest pang of annoyance.

 

[Hazy992]

They have their place but some people use them way too much. Someone on my Facebook seemed to think XD was a punctuation mark. Every single status ended with it, it was really damn irritating.

 

[Owlslayer]

Gotta admit, i use them. I don`t use them here on the forums, but on YouTube comments, and when I´m chatting with someone on Facebook, i tend to use them. When i think about it, i mostly use them so that no-one would misunderstand what i say. I often get really nervous even when talking to people by text, and thus, i add emoticons so that everything would be...clearer, i guess. I always start worrying that maybe a person won`t understand I´m joking, or being sarcastic, and emoticons help me in that way. Tho overusing them is pretty annoying, have to say that.

 

[Nouw]

Context is everything. For example, using an emoticon in a chat is necessary for me so I can send the message with the proper-tone I am saying it in. Vocal tone is very important in communication and without it, the emoticon must take its place. I tried not using it but it makes chatting less enjoyable for me and the other person I'm sure.

I don't mind it in forums either when it's to show the tone, but other times when people use it in a snarky or sarcastic fashion it grinds my gears. Petty, I know.

EDIT: That avatar is strangely fitting for this thread.

 

[eggy32]

I don't mind most of them if they aren't overused. Putting a smiley face at the end of every sentence just takes away its value.
There is one I despise though.
:L

In no way does that represent a face or any emotion I'm familiar with. Nobody even seems to know what it means, even those who use it.

 

[Andy Shandy]

I quite enjoy using them, although I agree there is a limit to how often they should be used.

I.e. If XD they =P are D= used like =S this =L it =O can =/ be =3 rather =D irritating

 

[Goofguy]

I don't use them myself and I tend not to pay attention to others' use of them as I can usually properly infer what they're trying to convey.

 

[EscapeGoat_v1legacy]

Alright, I'll give you that one. Perhaps that is a rather piss-poor reason to stop conversing.

I suppose what I meant in my opening post was more of people substituting emoticons in favor of articulating their words to just outright say what they mean. It's fine if somebody were to use one to at the end of their post to say, add some light-hearted nature to the post in question. What I mean is...here, I'll show you an example of what irritates me.

Me: "Hey."

Friend: "What's up man? "

Me: "Not a lot. Just playing *insert game here*."

Friend: "Sounds like fun XD mind if I join you? "

Me: "I suppose not. Sure."

Friend: " Sweet, be right there! XD"

It might seem like I'm exaggerating, but these are the kind of messages I receive daily. Am I in the wrong by not including emoticons when I "talk"? I'm just conversing back and forth, and I didn't have to use emoticons to do it effectively. Like I said, there's nothing wrong with them when used sparingly, but I find it hard to believe one can sit there and read my example above without feeling the slightest pang of annoyance.

Alright, likewise on that. Over-use of emoticons can be irritating. I know you're not exaggerating with that example either - I admit, I do know people who type like that.

I do get what you mean though. It could just be the fact that, for some, it is significantly harder to convey meaning through text alone; so, they use emoticons. I remember there seemed to be a fad for them when I and my peers were going through our early teens, and I guess some people just stick in the habit of using them so much. It does seem really childish to me though - and it does rather annoy me when I see people I've grown up with, in their twenties, using them as often as in your example but all I can do is ignore it I guess.


Also, by the time I'd posted, you'd posted this up:

I just...when I see them used like that I feel like all the integrity of the statement has been thrown out the window in favor of using a silly face rather than conveying exactly what you are trying to say in a cohesive manner. Perhaps I am being a bit dramatic, but it really wanes on me after a while.

And I'll be honest, I quite agree on that one. Well, not so much entirely with the idea of throwing your integrity out of the window - that depends on what's being said in the first place but I think I get the context in which you mean it.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

They have their place but some people use them way too much. Someone on my Facebook seemed to think XD was a punctuation mark. Every single status ended with it, it was really damn irritating.

I have a similar situation, save for in place of "XD" they use "lol".

Believe me, I know your pain.

I don't mind it in forums either when it's to show the tone, but other times when people use it in a snarky or sarcastic fashion it grinds my gears. Petty, I know.

You and I have similar pet peeves, then.

I just get so exasperated when I see them so much. Is it really that hard to convey emotion through diction that merely inserting "XD" into everything? I have little problems doing it...

EDIT: That avatar is strangely fitting for this thread.

I don't mind most of them if they aren't overused. Putting a smiley face at the end of every sentence just takes away its value.
There is one I despise though.
:L

In no way does that represent a face or any emotion I'm familiar with. Nobody even seems to know what it means, even those who use it.

I agree, and perhaps I can add another one to your list of not understanding, as it sure as shit baffles me.

:U

What emotion is that supposed to convey?

I quite enjoy using them, although I agree there is a limit to how often they should be used.

I.e. If XD they =P are D= used like =S this =L it =O can =/ be =3 rather =D irritating

Hit the nail on the head, you did. That's exactly what I am talking about.

 

[Nouw]

I don't mind it in forums either when it's to show the tone, but other times when people use it in a snarky or sarcastic fashion it grinds my gears. Petty, I know.

You and I have similar pet peeves, then.

I just get so exasperated when I see them so much. Is it really that hard to convey emotion through diction that merely inserting "XD" into everything? I have little problems doing it...

Oh no what I'm talking about is much worse. I don't mind it when someone uses emoticons like XD a lot because whenever I see it used in that fashion, i.e. a fucklot, I know that said person only means good. It's annoying yes but they're someone I know and I accept that as one of their quirks.

But other times, not so much. Case in point, the eyeroll emoticon. That one drives me insane. Whenever someone posts a reply and ends it with the emoticon I want to reach through the computer and do bad things xD. [sub]I use the xD there to show that I'm saying it in a joking manner, that I'm laughing after I say it.[/sub] This is on another forum by the way, thank god you can't post an eyeroll with only words, numbers and symbols.

EDIT: That avatar is strangely fitting for this thread.

What has been seen cannot be unseen. I'd like to add an emoticon there because I sound a bit too morose and serious, but for you I will not. Damn it I want to add another one.

 

[Moderated]

So they don't annoy you, just them being used incorrectly?
Anyway, they have a time and a place. For example, I usually use when I am kidding. It's like a shorter version of /kidding. It helps set a tone for what you are saying.
"Fuck you " Playful.
"Fuck you " Playful, and very happy.
"Fuck you " Sort of playful, but hurt kind of. etc.