Like prehistoric cave dwellers, the devotees of electronic bulletin-boards and "e-mail" have struggled to find a new way to express themselves. Wall painting would not work. Words, it seems, are not enough. Inarticulate sounds cannot be displayed on screens. To make their messages feel more like personal contact, they have hit on using the punctuation marks on an ordinary keyboard in order to pull faces at each other. To read these signs, you have to put your head on your left shoulder. The basic unit is: :-) Smile - the "smiley", a standard smiling face. In context, this can mean "I'm happy to hear from you", or other pleasantries: ;-) Wink :-( Frown About the user's appearance: User 8-) Wears sunglasses :-{) Has a moustache :-Q Smokes @:-) Wears a turban Mood and response: User is :-D Laughing :-/ Sceptical :-e Disappointed :-7 Wry :-X Keeping lips sealed Simply absurd fun, verging on the unintelligible: User is :-F Buck-toothed vampire with one tooth missing *:o) A clown +:-) Holds religious office @= Pro-nuclear Now you know what electronic mail is used for. The Unofficial Smilie Dictionary -------------------------------- The basic ones: :-) Your basic smilie. This smilie is used to inflect a sarcastic or joking statement since we can't hear voice inflection over Unix. ;-) Winky smilie. User just made a flirtatious and/or sarcastic remark. More of a "don't hit me for what I just said" smilie. :-( Frowning smilie. User did not like that last statement or is upset or depressed about something. :-I Indifferent smilie. Better than a Frowning smilie but not quite as good as a happy smilie :-> User just made a really biting sarcastic remark. Worse than a :-). Less common ones: User (-: is left handed %-) has been staring at a green screen for 15 hours straight :*) is drunk [:] is a robot 8-) is wearing sunglasses B:-) is wearing sunglasses on head ::-) wears normal glasses (:-) is jewish B-) wears hornrimmed glasses :-{) has a mustache :-{} wears lipstick {:-) wears a toupee }:-( wears toupee in an updraft :-[ is a vampire :-E is a buck-toothed vampire :-F is a buck-toothed vampire with one tooth missing :-7 just made a wry statement :-* just ate something sour :-)~ drools :-~) has a cold :'-( is crying :'-) is so happy and is crying :-@ is screaming :-# wears braces :^) has a broken nose :v) has a broken nose, but it's the other way :_) nose is sliding off of his face :<) is from an Ivy League School :-& is tongue tied =:-) is a hosehead -:-) is a punk rocker -:-( real punk rockers don't smile :=) has two noses +:-) is the Pope or holds some other religious office `:-) shaved one of his eyebrows off this morning ,:-) same thing...other side |-I is asleep |-O is yawning/snoring :-Q is a smoker :-? smokes a pipe O-) Megaton Man On Patrol! (or else, user is a scuba diver) O :-) is an angel (at heart, at least) :-P Nyahhhh! :-S just made an incoherent statement :-D is laughing (at you!) :-X lips are sealed :-C is really bummed :-/ is skeptical C=:-) is a chef @= is pro-nuclear war *<:-) is wearing a Santa Claus Hat :-o Uh oh! (8-o It's Mr. Bill! *:o) And Bozo the Clown! 3:] Pet smilie 3:[ Mean Pet smilie d8= Your pet beaver is wearing goggles and a hard hat E-:-) is a Ham radio operator :-9 is licking his/her lips %-6 is brain dead [:-) is wearing a walkman (:I is an egghead <:-I is a dunce K:P is a little kid with a propeller beenie @:-) is wearing a turban :-0 No Yelling! (Quiet Lab) :-: Mutant Smilie The invisible smilie .-) only has one eye ,-) Ditto...but he's winking X-( User just died 8 :-) is a wizard ------------------------------------------------------------------- C=}>;*{)) MegaSmilie... A drunk, devilish chef with a toupee in an updraft, a mustache, and a double chin Note: A lot of these can be typed without noses to make midget smilies. |
