Nurple = nipple. Also, a “Texas titty-twister”.
(bolding mine)
Oh… I know what that is! :smack:
‘Purple nurple’ :rolleyes: (Must be a ‘Yankee’ term.;))
Ignorance, successfully fought! 
Wow, I didn’t expect this to generate so much feedback, so I didn’t check back in for a couple days.
It’s not like we’re seeing an epidemic of :dubious: or anything - but before I’d posted this, I’d seen it in three separate threads in the span of fifteen minutes, accompanied only by “Cite?”. It really bugs me when folks do that - I feel that snark should be used sparingly, and not be the default response, if we all want to foster engaging and respectful discourse.
What was I thinking? :smack:
I always imagine the bj represented as a series of smilies:
:eek:
eek:eek:eek:…
<CPoI, lucky I didn’t have anything in mouth you scoundrel…>
I never bothered to do the hover-over. I always just assumed that was yawning. There are a lot of posts I’ve misconstrued over the years I guess.
:dubious:
I love the dubious and the eek smileys, and you can pry them from my cold dead hands.
Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
From my perspective, it’s usually looked like… o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:eek:…
)confused::smack::mad::smack::mad::(:mad::mad:
Thats how it usually worked out for me 
I’m going to disagree. If you (not you personally - anyone) doubt someone’s claim, you should just out and say so - clearly - not imply it with a smiley, or say “Ooh, that doesn’t pass the smell test” or some such wibble. Demand a citation, even, but raising a virtual eyebrow is just weak.
That represents one of the things this board should hold dear - clarity of purpose, and the nerve to speak up. Say what you really mean, and clearly.
Not that I have a dog in this fight any longer (I image-blocked all the smilies a while back, because I despise them all)
An eyebrow is much more – or at the very least, no less – direct, clear, and explicit than most words are. Human communication has never been limited to verbal expression. It’s very clear what a raised eyebrow means and it’s not wishy-washy, weaselly, weak, or indirect. It might be slightly more sarcastic or hostile or confrontational than mere words, but that’s the opposite of weak.
:dubious:
Lighten up, Francis.
I agree with this up to a point. In general, using any smiley as an intensifier or a pure expression of sentiment without any substantiation is weak. So I’m pretty dubious about the utility of Mr. Screwball and Mr. Yuk.
But message board language tends towards the conversational, and occasionally the printed word can appear overly harsh. Smilies are best used as softeners. Consider the following:
So you’ve basically confessed that you have unusual tastes and that we should ignore everything you say on this subject. I agree.
or
So you’ve basically confessed that you have unusual tastes and that we should ignore everything you say on this subject. :rolleyes:
[That last one softened the obnoxiousness, right? Let’s try another.]
So you’ve basically confessed that you have unusual tastes and that we should ignore everything you say on this subject. :dubious:
Still obnoxious of course. But softened, perhaps further. It’s better to use smilies sparingly, but they can be labor-saving. And dubiousness implies that while there is an aspect of the argument that has some validity, its weaknesses outweigh its strengths. Rolley is more dismissive.
While we’re on the subject, animated smilies should be avoided. And we should adopt a new smilie only if it on balance aids the fight against ignorance.
Fun fact: Mr. Dubiousness raises his eyebrows so high, that it actually distorts the top of his head! And he purses his lips ponderously.
Maybe I could label this guy “Small Grin” with the mouseover, and :
: to invoke it:
http://wm55.inbox.com/thumbs/2c_130b92_3bbb2b38_oG.gif.thumb
I should probably clarify. I despise smilies (well, the dismissive/negative ones) when they’re used on their own without any words.
I agree that they have some utility in tagging the tone of a written response (and mitigating the risk of the forum equivalent of ‘email disease’). What is weak is most cases where the response is nothing more than a rolleyes or dubious smiley. If you’re dubious, it helps to say why. If you just roll your eyes at me, you might as well go to your room.
(bolding mine)
That’s almost exactly what my Mom used to say to me!
After reading all the replies, I’d like to pose a question:
Which response to the following assertion
seems more civil to you?
Response 1: :dubious: Cite?
Response 2: :dubious:
Response 3: Cite?
Response 4: Can you provide any data to support this claim?
I’d rather preserve civility at the expense of brevity - but that’s just me, I guess.
When you’re faced with that egregious a claim, words are superfluous. I’m going with the bare eyebrow.
Ok, I guess I deserved that, even though the question itself is immaterial.
Let’s replace “ice cream” with “broccoli” then.
The question or statement itself is NOT immaterial. Thats the whole point. Some statements ARE a load of baloney. I think anyone with half a brain knows the relative popularity of ice cream vs broccoli.
If you say most people hate icecream or you (even though you have kids) have never experienced a leaky diaper IMO it most certainly does deserve a :dubious:
Because IMO you are either full of shit, delusional, or outright lying to win your argument. And that IMO is a bunch of :dubious: