[Ainaserkewen]

But I haven't touched a smilie in over 9 months...*sighs in relief* I'm going to be okay.

No, that's a lie. I never liked Emoticons because they were yet another thing to remember when either posting or chatting it up on MSN. I never mastered the text based ones either, and I much prefer to just write down what I would have said (though maybe a little grander because I have more time to think) and usually I have no problems. I understand the need for some validation of a funny post or mocking, but then, maybe some of you have seen my version of such emotion:

(Smilie boycott: Cheeky Grin) Which is essentially the same thing. It is just as simple anyway.

I don't hate smilies, but it's always fun to play-boycott stuff. Anybody want to join my rally?

Most of this forum's posts are written either persuasively or descriptively, and both ways are pretty easy to write in and don't require the help of little illustrations. It's when the posts go to something else. When you're reading an essay, for example, certainly smilies would be inappropriate and discredit the writer. When we have conversations, however, such clear signals are needed. A conversation is the connection between two or more people, right? So in a sense you're speaking to someone or someones specifically, so you would have to use more personal language so that your tone and mood would be clear to your listeners, or in this case, your readers. When one is expressing themselves not in conversation, such personal connections are not required, and the art of written language takes care of everything.

So I guess, it's the difference between the kind of post your're posting.