Holy Crap, ETF, you are a oot (Dropped H ref). I was not offended by your earlier posts, just concerned that a respected long time member did not realize my good intentions. Apparently you did, and I was the dummy sorry. [if smilies were not considered bad i would put one here]
Oh, fercryinoutloud, guy! First you say:
And now this? Sheesh! You’re ruining my badass rep! I’ll have to move out of the Pit if you keep this up. 
Oh, and smileys are one of those topics always good for a rousing argument where no consensus is ever achieved. I happen to be in the camp that is repelled by overuse of the things*, but not one of the puritans who abhor their very existence. Placed judiciously, they can be highly effective. Of course, folks who camp out in the middle of the road have no one but themselves to blame when the semis roll over them from both directions. 
*Speaking of excessive smileys, has anyone got a link to the thread where some Doper made a whole image out of smileys?
Well ETF I think I was less than cordial in my early days, all of almost 30 days ago, and I regret it. As far as I am concerned you can be the meanest pitcit© if you want ( but I don’t believe it)
As to smilies, I personally think they can be valuable tools to express emotion. Especially, if you are posting to someone who may not yet realize you are JK. It helps to express whether one is foaming at the mouth mad, or that one has tongue firmly in cheek. I do not understand the prejudice against smilies. They are just another tool to help communicate the tone of ones post.
A question for the anti-smilies: Is there a reason for disliking smilies that overrides their ability to assist in communicating? And also, why are smilies worse than abbreviations like IMHO, IANAL, JK, IIRC, etc…?
I don’t know, but that is easily my favorite username on the sdmb. It makes me think of a little owl made from cream cheese. It also makes me think of the Dead Milkmen (Burrow owl! Burrow owl!), who also make me smile.
OK, this has gone on long enough. I have been thinking about it for awhile, and it still pisses me off.
the cream cheese owl asked:
I understand that much of my humor is stupid and that many of my references are not understood. I remember only one instance of my being harsh, and it was indeed in reference to the white supremicist who chose to advertize the fact by choosing a username containing 88. Despite the fact that the “Noble” and maligned (by me) fascist poster, has not posted anymore of his white supremicist drivel, I understand why you choose to attack me.[roll roll roll roll eyes]
I am amazed by all the people who defended the arian fuck. Where is your precious Nazi now?
I do not suggest his banning, I believe in free speech (I realize this is a private board and is not required to allow posters that they do not wish to allow) but I am disgusted by those who defended him. Sure it was just a coincedence that he spouted racist BS and his username contained the well known reference to Adolf the piece of schit psycho hitler. I would have never suggested a connection had he not been spewing racist propoganda.
OOCC based on you other posts I understand why you chose to pit me. I wish my first pitting had been by someone intelligent, from whom I could have learned something. Instead I get pitted by some right wing freak who cannot spell bowl.
So? You can’t spell supremacist.
Christ all mighty, after all I said, the best you can do is point out my spelling error? I am suprised you did not say I was racist like Barbra S. or stupidly infer some insult to LYNN BODONI. Or for that matter, imply that I am a troll or a puppet. It sickens me that you have “reported” me 3 times. I never stooped so low even when Ilsa posted such vulgar nonsense. The fact that I am still here despite your reports seems to indicate that you are an asshat.
So, you like to sling shit but you don’t personally like the taste, is that it?
Give me one fucking example where I have “flung shit” and failed to apologize when I was proven wrong.
Was that an apology?
If you want my apology for something, just tell me what it is. But no, my previous post was not an apology. It was a request for you to provide an example of where I have"flung shit".
You know what? It has just dawned on me that, in a very real sense, I am you. Whatever I do to you, I do to Him. I need to stop being mean to you. So, I’m sorry for giving you a hard time.
Nice apology, and about time, but you’re still a loon.
Yeah. The view from the asylum is sometimes blurry.
WTF? 
For we loons.
Okey-doke. In the thread where you basically accused the entire board membership of “defending NAZIs” (quite possibly one of the most asinine statements ever made here, btw), I, like several other posters merely pointed out that the NAZIs you were so bravely taking on, all by yourself, apparently, had been specifically invited to post by another member, and that if you were upset by anyone, it should be the person who invited them. Your response, as I recall, was to tell me to go fuck myself, and, unnecessarily, accused me of ‘defending’ them when I was doing nothing of the sort.
Personally I don’t give a good goddam how out of touch with humanity you claim to be; your response was entirely unwarranted, and you can shove your mealy-mouthed apologies up your tightly clenched ass. Sideways. Here’s an idea: think about what it is you are posting for a minute or two, and maybe you won’t have to spend so much time whining about how misunderstood you are.
I remember that thread. And I also remember that people weren’t so much defending him as they were just annoyed by your generalizations, hasty assumptions and hairpin trigger. You should reread the thread now that you’ve had time to step back from it - you really flew off the handle at a lot of people who were doing and saying things quite different from what you thought you heard them say.
I’m just sayin’.
The abbreviations are shorthand, just a way to insert a common bit of text. They can be annoying, especially the non-capitalized leetish bits like “ur”, but not usually too bad. Using them a lot just shows that the writer thinks in catchprases.
Smileys, on the other hand, convey an inability by the writer to express themselves. They’re only used when the writer can’t convey their mental state or demeanor through text. They would be much less necessary if the writer read what they wrote before posting it, or if the readers were willing to read it more than once before posting a reply based on a misinterpretation, like you did to ETF.
yup! bowl of cream cheese!