In general, what do you think about using Emojis in posts here?

[jymbee]

I remember the outright indignation from linguistic perfectionists when online chat started to take off and people were using shortcuts such as LOL, RFLMAO, ICU, etc. etc. "How lazy"!

As you know, these days there's a wide range of emojis available to provide a bit of context and intent to messages. Again, some purists argue that by utilizing these "gimmicks" you're just sloppy and don't have the ability to convey your meaning with words only. I say, .

For example, consider these examples:

You have no idea what you're talking about (anger at what you're responding to?)
You have no idea what you're talking about (playful and perhaps sarcastic?)
You have no idea what you're talking about (oh there you go again...?)

Not to say that writing skills are not important, but c'mon... this isn't Shakespeare.

 

[SeilerBird]

I love emojis and I do not like their critics. Typing is very difficult for me and anything that saves me time is a blessing.

 

[Skookum]

Text as communication leaves out a lot of meaning which contributes to the message. Things like tone of voice, facial expression, hand gestures. Emoji's help replace a fraction of that, or help explain how a statement is intended to be received by the reader. I've been trying to use more emojis as some of what I write I think is misunderstood. I use wit and sarcasm and it generally plays well in real/live conversation. On a forum, it tends to be taken personally when sometimes it really isn't.

 

[Tom]

For many years, we used to observe how difficult this medium was to convey someone's feeling and intent; Too often, folks would be offended by, for example, a comment intended as a joke. emojis offer some relief in this respect.

FWIW for many years, when I'd tease someone (in person) with my poker face, Chris (my better half) would jump in and say "he's only kidding". It usually spoiled the intent, but also avoided a possible bad reaction by the recipient. Behind the keyboard, that was greatly enhanced.

 

[Tom]

Text as communication leaves out a lot of meaning which contributes to the message. Things like tone of voice, facial expression, hand gestures. Emoji's help replace a fraction of that, or help explain how a statement is intended to be received by the reader. I've been trying to use more emojis as some of what I write I think is misunderstood. I use wit and sarcasm and it generally plays well in real/live conversation. On a forum, it tends to be taken personally when sometimes it really isn't.

You said it better than I was trying to convey

 

[Utclmjmpr]

I use this one a lot when I'm rubbing someone just a little..>>>Dan

 

[LarsMac]

Back in Shakespeare's day, the "Emojis" were on the faces of the actors when they did their lines and expected a response from the Audience.

 

[jymbee]

I use wit and sarcasm and it generally plays well in real/live conversation. On a forum, it tends to be taken personally when sometimes it really isn't.

Wit and sarcasm is more or less my normal mode among friends and family members. They get it and accept it as just who I am.

But... have you ever had the pleasure (?) of trying to have a conversation with someone who no matter how obvious, just doesn't get it that you're KIDDING and you have to always be mindful of that?

 

[Ray-IN]

Humm,

 

[Sprucegum]

I don’t know what some of the emojis mean and often put in the wrong one which adds more confusion.

 

[Wasillaguy]

Emojis are for those unable to express themselves in writing. Anyone can make a sour face, or pick one from a selection.
To properly convey one's feelings, one must choose a selection of words and construct a sentence which properly describes the emotion. Anything less is lazy and inadequate, and does a disservice to self and any potential audience.

 

[Tom]

Wit and sarcasm is more or less my normal mode among friends and family members. They get it and accept it as just who I am.

But... have you ever had the pleasure (?) of trying to have a conversation with someone who no matter how obvious, just doesn't get it that you're KIDDING and you have to always be mindful of that?

Many years ago, in the early days of forums, an admin on a UK forum jumped into a conversation I was having (online) with someone who didn't get it; He explained "it's just Tom's odd Welsh wit"

 

[Onyrlef]

I love emojis and I do not like their critics. Typing is very difficult for me and anything that saves me time is a blessing.

I don't like their critics and I don't like what their critics say is not the same.

 

[SpencerPJ]

I use emojis to accent my writing, kinda like an adjective. I'm on a truck forum that has an option of the middle finger. It gets interesting when that one gets used. My kids call me 'boomer' when I type lol, lol

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Seems to me that using emojis is just taking advantage of the visual nature of the interaction, i.e. conveying more than text alone. Anything that adds meaning to the communication is a Good Thing.

 

[Tom]

Emojis are for those unable to express themselves in writing. Anyone can make a sour face, or pick one from a selection.
To properly convey one's feelings, one must choose a selection of words and construct a sentence which properly describes the emotion. Anything less is lazy and inadequate, and does a disservice to self and any potential audience.

Yes and no. Over the years, I've written numerous technical articles in addition to countless technical and non-tech manuals, procedures and specifications/standards. I attribute that in large part to 4 years of grammar school.

However, I've come to realize that the current generation and even prior generations, rarely read more than a subject and maybe one line of text. IMHO this situation is exacercbated by folks using small screens (e.g. cell phones) for communicarions..

On a personal note, in addition to having a tough time productively reading on small screens, I have 'oily skin', which makes it tough and tedious to 'type' on a screen, irrespective of the size. As a result, I always use an external keyboard with my touch screen laptop, and consciously minimize my typing on tablets and cell phones.

For several of the above reasons, I tend to use emojis in, for example, texts. Also, I usually avoid email on cell phones.

Having said all that, my PC was on the fritz and I typed this message on a tablet. Now I need to re-read it and correct errors

 

[tlmgcamp]

Text as communication leaves out a lot of meaning which contributes to the message. Things like tone of voice, facial expression, hand gestures. Emoji's help replace a fraction of that, or help explain how a statement is intended to be received by the reader. I've been trying to use more emojis as some of what I write I think is misunderstood. I use wit and sarcasm and it generally plays well in real/live conversation. On a forum, it tends to be taken personally when sometimes it really isn't.

I attended a Floodplain Manager conference a few years back where one of the speakers talked about the dangers of text communications. He then put a 7 word sentence up on the screen and interpreted it 7 different ways. There were no punctuation changes required to change the meaning, only inflection. As technical professionals we all knew that written communications were open to interpretation, but this demonstration really drove the point home

 

[Tom]

FWIW for many years, when I'd tease someone (in person) with my poker face, Chris (my better half) would jump in and say "he's only kidding". It usually spoiled the intent, but also avoided a possible bad reaction by the recipient. Behind the keyboard, that was greatly enhanced.

Chris prefers a window seat on a plane and, over the many years I flew for a living, I'd opt for an aisle. On a recent flight, initially we each sat in our preferred seats; This was Southwest with no assigned seating. As the plane filled up, I moved to the middle seat and, shortly after, a young lady sat in the vacated aisle seat. I spontaneously looked at her and said "You do know that this seat is reserved ..." and she replied "oh really?". Before Chris could jump in, I added "... for you". She relaxed and we all had a laugh.

I'm surprised that, over the years, Chris hasn't had "he's only kidding" tattooed on my forehead.

 

[Skookum]

I attended a Floodplain Manager conference a few years back where one of the speakers talked about the dangers of text communications. He then put a 7 word sentence up on the screen and interpreted it 7 different ways. There were no punctuation changes required to change the meaning, only inflection. As technical professionals we all knew that written communications were open to interpretation, but this demonstration really drove the point home

Likewise. In fire school we did an exercise using radio communications. One person stood at a white board and attempted to re-create a complex image to size/scale as described over a radio by someone else. The person giving directions had been given the image on paper to memorize, and then it was taken away prior to them being allowed to give directions to the illustrator. The classroom audience could also see the image, but the illustrator could not see it, and the person giving directions could not see what the illustrator was drawing, nor could they see each other. Radio was their only form of communication. To drive radio protocol home, they had to address each other for every new direction given.

Hilarity ensued as the illustrator and direction-giver both fumbled to describe and re-create the image. The end result looked nothing like the image on paper, highlighting the communication challenges common in any situation.

 

[Chef Duane]

Likewise. In fire school we did an exercise using radio communications. One person stood at a white board and attempted to re-create a complex image to size/scale as described over a radio by someone else. The person giving directions had been given the image on paper to memorize, and then it was taken away prior to them being allowed to give directions to the illustrator. The classroom audience could also see the image, but the illustrator could not see it, and the person giving directions could not see what the illustrator was drawing, nor could they see each other. Radio was their only form of communication. To drive radio protocol home, they had to address each other for every new direction given.

Hilarity ensued as the illustrator and direction-giver both fumbled to describe and re-create the image. The end result looked nothing like the image on paper, highlighting the communication challenges common in any situation.

Sounds like a hi-tech interpretation of the 'telephone game.' Fortunately, I never employ emotions like sarcasm in my posts and they are always clear, concise, and exacting in their content.
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