MSN (or other IM software) and The Smiley Addict(s)

[Akarui Kibuno]

Hi all!

You probably know at least one person like that. The smileys correspond to words like "why, you, me, ?, what, thanks" (sometimes more than those, and trust me when I say it HURTS, I can provide proof o_o) and, being common words, appear every two words on your screen.

How do you politely deal with it ?  Is there a difference of treatment between someone you know well (family member you get along with, close friend) and someone you don't really know (potential date) ?

[Suze]

ahh the language of the Smilelys

I try not to use them that much myself - I could see where it would get very annoying to "translate" every message.

sorry have no real good answer for you.  Wish I did

[Akarui Kibuno]

ahh the language of the Smilelys

I try not to use them that much myself - I could see where it would get very annoying to "translate" every message.

sorry have no real good answer for you.  Wish I did

No probs, at least I'm not alone . When I use smileys, or when I get them from other people, I always use codes like yes*** or bleh*** so that even when I type the words I'm not boethered by the over use of the darn things .

[RingTailedLemur]

It annoys the heck out of me too, because flashing lights/fast movement make me quite uncomfortable.

This is a setting in MSN that you can click so smilies are not shown.

[Akarui Kibuno]

It annoys the heck out of me too, because flashing lights/fast movement make me quite uncomfortable (sensory input issues).

This is a setting in MSN that you can click so smilies are not shown.

Oh @_@ ! Now you just taught me something. Aha I just HAVE to go look for it!

[iDuckie]

But, aren't you basically doing the same thing that annoys you here? The o_O/@_@/ /:P faces are the same thing as what you're complaining about.

[RingTailedLemur]

But, aren't you basically doing the same thing that annoys you here? The o_O/@_@/ /:P faces are the same thing as what you're complaining about.

No, because the OP is not:

a) replacing every third word in her sentences with smilies that need translation - they are used as punctuation, or accents
b) the MSN smilies can be very large and flash bright colours, and that is what the OP dislikes and is not what she is using here

[iDuckie]

But, aren't you basically doing the same thing that annoys you here? The o_O/@_@/ /:P faces are the same thing as what you're complaining about.

No, because the OP is not:

a) replacing every third word in her sentences with smilies that need translation - they are used as punctuation, or accents
b) the MSN smilies can be very large and flash bright colours, and that is what the OP dislikes and is not what she is using here

Hm, that's not really how I see it. The smileys on MSN don't need a translation, as they move and you can tell what the words are. The o_O face may not be understandable to everyone, same with the @_@ face. So, people who don't know these faces may need a translation. I know several people who have no clue what @_@ means.

There is such a thing as over usage of smileys as accents/punctuations. The OP has at least one in every reply. Maybe not to you, but to others, that might be a tab much. But hey, what do I know, right? 

[Starchasm]

But, aren't you basically doing the same thing that annoys you here? The o_O/@_@/ /:P faces are the same thing as what you're complaining about.

No, because the OP is not:

a) replacing every third word in her sentences with smilies that need translation - they are used as punctuation, or accents
b) the MSN smilies can be very large and flash bright colours, and that is what the OP dislikes and is not what she is using here

...I was trying not to point out the irony, but I have to say that using smileys as punctuation is the same thing to me.  I use MSN daily and haven't noticed the smiles being substantially different than the ones used here.

OP, if the use bothers you have you tried asking them politely not to use them?  Tell them that it hurts your eyes and makes their point hard to decipher at times.

[Akarui Kibuno]

Just to clarify about my own smiley use :

Yes, I do use the "@_@" stuff, but this is at least text-based. And I do clarify when asked.

Sometimes, I do use the image based smileys, but mostly the small-sized ones.

My problem is more with, as I said, flashy and big smileys. Especially when they replace words or syllables (yup... one of the guys I've just started talking to as "oi" as a smiley code... which hurts) .

Examples of things that get annoying very quickly when over-used :

       

Or this, a little bigger, a little flashier :

I even used to use "n_n" a lot. Except people didn't get it, so I started using a MSN-sized one that meant the same thing (aka very small) .

As far as my own smiley use, though, I will admit to sometimes (but not often, because I do follow my own principles) using these :




Basically I'm not against people using smileys as punctuation. Mostly. Ending a sentence with a smile never hurt anyone, right ? If I speak with the same person again I'll just have to take a screencap. I'm sure you'll understand.

And I swear I do limit the use of the smileys when asked, and I adapt myself to the people I'm speaking with ^^

[Akarui Kibuno]

Update with more accurate example. This is the kind of convo that prompted this post, so I just had to screencap it. My apologies about the MSN status by the way, I didn't think of changing it during the convo.

     



Smileys used here included codes such as ? , oi, tu (you) , ok, moi (me) , enfant (child) , toi (you) , oui (yes) , rien (nothing) , and I haven't figured out what the odd orange with glasses is.

[DottyG]

Hm, that's not really how I see it. The smileys on MSN don't need a translation, as they move and you can tell what the words are. The o_O face may not be understandable to everyone, same with the @_@ face. So, people who don't know these faces may need a translation. I know several people who have no clue what @_@ means.

There is such a thing as over usage of smileys as accents/punctuations. The OP has at least one in every reply. Maybe not to you, but to others, that might be a tab much. But hey, what do I know, right?

Ummm.....can I admit here that I never know what the OP means when she puts in these weird symbols in all her posts?  I'm sorry.  I know you think everyone knows what these things mean (and, maybe they're regional in your circle of friends or something?), but I'm always totally lost on what you're trying to convey with your o_O or @_@ and n_n and things like that.  None of those look like faces or anything (like typical smilies do), so I'm not sure what they are!  I'm suspecting that you and your friends have this little language that's not quite as "universal" as you think it is, because I've never seen any of those symbols anywhere else but your posts.

Translation of what you're trying to say with them really would be helpful!

[Hushabye]

I think the odd orange with the sunglasses is like our smiley with the sunglasses -- "cool" or whatever.

I do think those smileys are annoying because they're so darned big and flashy... Just looking at the screen shots almost gave me a headache (which is saying something because I stare at a computer screen all day).

I do think smileys should be used in moderation all the way around.  I feel they're more effective that way.  But I love this one:  o.O   For some reason, that one gives me the best mental image of this little cartoon face with a raised eyebrow and one eye open *realllllllly* far, making this weird twisted mouth expression.  I think it's even better for expressing disbelief than  !

[Surianne]

Hm, that's not really how I see it. The smileys on MSN don't need a translation, as they move and you can tell what the words are. The o_O face may not be understandable to everyone, same with the @_@ face. So, people who don't know these faces may need a translation. I know several people who have no clue what @_@ means.

There is such a thing as over usage of smileys as accents/punctuations. The OP has at least one in every reply. Maybe not to you, but to others, that might be a tab much. But hey, what do I know, right?

Ummm.....can I admit here that I never know what the OP means when she puts in these weird symbols in all her posts?  I'm sorry.  I know you think everyone knows what these things mean (and, maybe they're regional in your circle of friends or something?), but I'm always totally lost on what you're trying to convey with your o_O or @_@ and n_n and things like that.  None of those look like faces or anything (like typical smilies do), so I'm not sure what they are!  I'm suspecting that you and your friends have this little language that's not quite as "universal" as you think it is, because I've never seen any of those symbols anywhere else but your posts.

Translation of what you're trying to say with them really would be helpful!

Thanks Dotty, I've been wondering too!  I have seen them elsewhere, usually among manga/anime lovers so I assume it's something from that culture, but I can't even begin to speculate at the meaning.  I see this one a lot too:  ^_^ 

[gollymolly2]

Based on the screenshots OP has loaded, this doesn't really seem to be about smileys at all, it's about using icons to represent normal words (a large illustrated "you", "me", "yes" etc.). I've never seen this done before and it would drive me crazy, but I don't know that I would actually ask my friends not to send them. Can you just block them with the msn software?


SMILEY DIGRESSION:
And as an aside, I've seen the :  ) vs O_O before, with my American-born friends using almost exclusively the former, my Asian friends using exclusively the latter, and friends from other countries using one or the other. Someone explained it to me like this (and take this for what it's worth - not much) that in the States we think of expressions as involving the mouth, so the eyes (either a colon or semi-colon) stay the same, and the mouth changes according to the mood you're trying to express. Whereas in Asian countries, they think of expressions as involving the eyes, so the mouth (the underscore) stays the same, while the eyes use different punctuation marks depending on the mood being expressed.