While I am no fan of chatspeak and have hardly ever used it (I have never even sent a text message), I do think that 'smileys' are useful in a forum such as this, appropriately used. Since it is a discussion atmosphere, they make up for the facial expressions and tones of voice that would otherwise feature in a discussion.
Of course, I agree that they have no place in academic papers, or any other formal piece of writing for that matter.
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Do you mind? I'm busy doing the fishstick. It's a very delicate state of mind!
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