What about those weirdos that type if backwards…
(:
Do they have teh dyslexia? Suxxrz.
One of my professors types <grin> into her e-mails. Not an emoticon, just “<grin>”. I think it’s cute. Weird, but cute.
Edit: She also usually adds it after things that are not all that funny, like “The meeting is at 2:00 tomorrow <grin>.”
Back in the day, that was called a left-handed smiley, and most of my left handed friends used it, just like I always used a smiley with glasses: 
Ask him to tell you his opinion of Jurassic Park using emoticons.
oh hell, my sig file that I never use is appropriate for once!
I am what you would most certainly consider an “old teacher” and I would never use any smilies in an email.
I just personally dislike them - someone will tell you to “fuck off and die” and then add a smilie face, as if that makes it all OK.
Just as inane is when someone sympathizes with the fact that everyone you know died in some disaster, “sorry to hear everyone died!” and then puts a little sad face at the end.
If you can write well, you don’t need to draw a picture for me to understand your meaning.
I think that PSXer is very young for their age and should learn to lighten up.
When you have his equivilence in experience and knowledge then you might think about judging him.
Until then you are being at best somewhat presumtive, at the worst you’re showing the arrogance of ignorance.
My 62 year old father uses them when he e-mails me from work.
What’s the big deal? Yeesh.
Smiley with glasses? Nonsense. That’s clearly a Lone Ranger smiley.
Not a big deal. I would find it strange if the professor used smilies every sentence or something.
I had a professor last semester who put a smilie face next to my grade on a test. That was odd. What am I, a first grader?
No problem from a professor. I did find it odd that a coworker used them in email replies to me at my summer job, but then again he was usually helping me sort out the rather bizarre behaviour of a less-than-well-designed database software, and so sarcastic comments about it and convoluted explanations were the norm and smilies kind of suited the conversation.
Who do you think invented digital emoticons? It was us old guys back in the 80s.
Why shouldn’t we continue to use them as we have for 28 years?
“Digital forms of emoticons on the Internet were included in a proposal by Scott Fahlman in a message on 19 September 1982.” From https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Emoticon
Oh, nevermind, joke too stupid.
As long as he didn’t use a <3 …
I say unprofessional. Now, if it’s a chatting type conversation (How was your weekend?), then it’s not so bad. But if it’s an e-mail sent to the whole class about the syllabus or course objectives, then I don’t think it’s professional.
I had a TA once end an e-mail saying “thx!” … real future professor material there.
Whats the tone of the class, and the nature of the relationship?
I went to a teeny tiny college. People with the same major had tons of classes together and often the same professor for several classes. We were on pretty friendly terms. I might not even have noticed if Prof. C had used a smiley (unless, as noted aboved it was used incorrectly.)
I don’t think a smiley is out of place in a light hearted email. “Don’t forget we’re meeting at the library Thursday, not the calssroom :)”. If the message is serious "The attendance pollicy is non-negotiable. Three missed classes will lower your grade. 
" I’d think it was weird, but probably not weird enough to start a thread over.
As a teacher, I would find it odd to use an emoticon in an email to a parent or in a handout to students. I would try to be more professional. In an email to family, friends, colleagues, meh.
I sent an e-mail to professor Steven Levitt with a picture attached of two cats hugging. Did not get a reply. So my current view is
Smilies = OK
Pictures of cats hugging = Do not expect a response
What if it was a LOLcat?
Relax. That emotican is older than you are.
I went to college before the web existed, but I once had a professor put an actual smilie face next to my grade on a paper. Later, when I needed a professor’s recommendation for an award, I asked him on the basis of that smilie face. He agreed to recommend me, and I got the award, so the smilie face worked for me.