[UA] Re: Emoticons

[Paul Wrider]

It's a contextual question.  The reason you don't have to stick a ;-) in when you're writing a personal letter or the back page of the New Yorker is because your audience knows you, or knows the section they're reading.

But if I'm posting to a discussion list or a mass mail and say something dry, sarcastic and witty, unless the standard is such (and even if it is) people might take offense and feel like they have to post a bunch of responses as to why the poster is a big jerk who's way off base.

Like, for example, this list recently.

-Wrider


>6. "But I need to show I'm being sarcastic/that it's a joke!" My
>opinion is: if you can't make humor or sarcasm obvious using
>plain prose and *require* an emoticon to do so, you should
>delete that email unsent.




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