[UA] Re: Emoticons

[Kevin Elmore]

> The first emoticon was -) and was typed by Kevin
> McKenzie (sp?) he meant it to be a shorthand for the
> phrase "tongue in cheek" but someone read it sideways
> and read it as a happy face.

Hmm, I did not know that -) symbolized "tongue in cheek."  

That's something to consider when doing emoticons.  Not
everyone (especially Internet newbies) will immediately
catch onto what you are saying.  

I do see one advantage of :) or something like that.  It's
pretty universal.  In a multi-lingual environment such as
this, one witty saying may not come off that way to someone
whose first language is not English.  Even if someone has a
good grasp of English, he may not quite catch the subtle
play between words because he hasn't had the
American/English/Australian/etc. culture hammered into his
brain.

Case in point:  One poster didn't catch the Mayberry
reference.  That is something almost all Americans take for
granted.  

Kevin
Who played close games of Scrabble with his Turkish friend
but kicked his butt in You Don't Know Jack involving any
Brady Bunch question.



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