# Only ONE new smiley? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 3, 2002, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198 "2002-06-03T17:26:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lisa\_Ann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lisa\_Ann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa_Ann)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/41 "2002-06-04T21:11:58Z")
Can I fix it? My dad grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and told me how they used to castrate steer. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/42 "2002-06-04T21:27:32Z")
Fenris - so your idea is that we should add any smiley that gets proposed by an SDMB member? Iā€™m sorry, but a) that will never fly, and b) I would argue against that even if I were a strong smiley proponent (which I am not.) I donā€™t like the idea of adding a smilie ā€œfor a whileā€ and then getting rid of it. Then we are going to have endless questions in ATMB of the type ā€œwhy do I see :foil: all over the place?ā€ It makes old threads confusing. You say ā€œthose that donā€™t like smilies donā€™t have to use them.ā€ No, but they still have to see them, and the people that hate smilies with a passion might just quit posting. The crowd we have now, which is a pretty good crowd I think, obviously doesnā€™t _require_ smilies to enjoy the SDMB. If you think one in fifty is too small a chance, we can change the rules next time to say ā€œmaximum of ten submissions and one submission per poster.ā€ That would encourage people to be more selective in their submissions. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/43 "2002-06-05T01:39:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > **Fenris - so your idea is that we should add any smiley that gets proposed by an SDMB member? Iā€™m sorry, but > a) that will never fly, and > b) I would argue against that even if I were a strong smiley proponent (which I am not.)** A) I didnā€™t really think it would. But it was worth a try šŸ˜‰ B) How 'bout any smiley that gets proposed and passes an initial screening? GD&R šŸ˜ƒ \*\* > [@](#): > > If you think one in fifty is too small a chance, we can change the rules next time to say ā€œmaximum of ten submissions and one submission per poster.ā€ That would encourage people to be more selective in their submissions. \*\* Except that there are a huge group of people who want to contribute a smilie. Even after whatshisname ran off with his 15 smilies or howvermany, you still didnā€™t (as far as I know) have a problem getting your fifty. I contributed aboutā€¦what, 6? I donā€™t know how typical that was: can you approximate how many Dopers were in that pool of 50? Much of what Iā€™m saying here is based on the idea that there were a lot of Dopers who only contributed one or two. Obviously, if my submission rate was typical, my argumentā€™s shot to shit!! šŸ˜› I agree that more selectivity in submissions might be better: perhaps a rule next time of one smilie submission per poster. Allow a fixed amount of time to submit a smilie (sayā€¦a week?) and then vote on a predetermined percentage of the smilies to get in (obviously the number would be low) with a minimum and a maximum amount. If you set 5% as the number that get in and you get 400 submissions, youā€™d still only let 5 in, if you only got 10 submissions, youā€™d still let one in. :: shrug :: I hope that this post and the previous one didnā€™t come off as too pissy: Iā€™m glad that youā€™re letting more smilies in and I appreciate how _much_ work this contest must be to run. Iā€™m not trying to joggle your elbow, just tossing out suggestions. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/44 "2002-06-05T03:17:04Z")
Aw, come on. This is capitalism: the consumer rules. Smilie producers should just learn to adapt to the pitiless one-smilie-at-a-time market. I say we introduce a smilie, see how he or she works out, and continue adding as appropriate. In short, the status quo. I would also note that the poll maxed out at 50 rather late in the process, and I suspect that few Dopers had their submissions turned away. Now if vBulletin allowed mini-pallettes for particular forums, that might be differentā€¦ Signed, Flowbark, Chair The Committee for Functional Smilies and Drawn Out Processes ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/45 "2002-06-05T03:32:26Z")
;j ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/46 "2002-06-05T03:38:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > \*\*Many posters on this board are prone to smilie abuse. We want to make sure that any new smilie that gets adopted will be properly taken care of. This means that if you want new smilies, youā€™re gonna have to make sure that the new one gets fed and watered regularly, gets plenty of love, gets fixed when the time comesā€¦and most important of all, THE SMILIE BOX NEEDS TO BE CLEANED! EVERY DAY! We in the staff are not going to be responsible for the new smilie (other than bringing it home), you posters are gonna have to take good care of it. And donā€™t let it die of neglect. \*\* If it dies do we give it a proper burial or just flush it down the toilet? ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/47 "2002-06-05T04:03:50Z")
I donā€™t get itā€¦which smiley is the new one? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/48 "2002-06-05T04:59:24Z")
Arnold: > [@](#): > > But seriously, we have some posters / moderators that hate smilies, and some posters / moderators that like them. We thought this would be a compromise. I fail to see why having a wider choice of them would increase the total deployment, although I suppose that itā€™s possible that it would. Perhaps what we need is the corollary to ā€œDisable smilies in this postā€ā€“a prefs setting that lets the user opt to not see them, and to see the raw ASCII codes for them instead. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/49 "2002-06-05T06:31:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by red\_dragon60 \* > \*\*;j \*\* I might agree with red dragon, depending on what theyā€™re saying. Perhaps a good first step would be to get rid of excess smileys and then replace them with more usable versions? šŸ™‚ ā˜¹ šŸ˜ƒ šŸ˜‰ šŸ˜› :rolleyes: :mad: :eek: seem to be the most used and most useful ones. :wally would be kept too, for obvious reasons. The blow up doll, :o, the smileyā€™s stupid friend, šŸ†’, and the inefficient šŸ˜• all seem more useless than many of the submissions to the poll. Unless there is some hidden meaning behind ;j, it seems totally out of place. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/50 "2002-06-05T07:10:56Z")
Mr. šŸ˜• can help the poster convey a genuinely quizzical stance, as opposed to a veiled attack. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/51 "2002-06-05T07:23:42Z")
So, eventually there are going to be 2,583 smileys to choose from? But just not now. Weā€™ll wait as they trickle in once every few months. Can you at least have a ā€œretire a smileyā€ vote every once in a while to cull the herd. Make sure that one of the options in that poll is ā€œremove all smileys.ā€ That way there is a small chance I will one day be happy with the smileys available at Straight Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/52 "2002-06-05T07:41:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by flowbark \* > **Mr. šŸ˜• can help the poster convey a genuinely quizzical stance, as opposed to a veiled attack.** But most times Iā€™ve seen it used, itā€™s been used after quoting an entire post, so the poster has no idea which part of the offending post is causing quizzicality. A short sentence should show as superior. For the record, my scary devil monastery days make me yearn for a total lack of smileys. Theyā€™re a crutch. If only we could fight ignorance without UIā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Skydive101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@Skydive101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skydive101)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/53 "2002-06-05T08:07:41Z")
Fuck fighting ignorance, I want the scary bloody homicidal clown! ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/54 "2002-06-05T11:50:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyomara \* > \*\*I donā€™t get itā€¦which smiley is the new one? \*\* There isnā€™t a new smiley yet; the voting is still going on to choose which one will be added. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/55 "2002-06-05T15:22:14Z")
OMG! Now I see that this is turning into a debate on the usefulness of smilies. To paraphrase andros, it is kind of amazing how such a ā€œstupid issueā€ can generate this amount of debate. It reminds me of the moderator discussions on how many smilies to add. Iā€™ll check back in a month and see if thereā€™s a consensus. šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/56 "2002-06-05T16:30:31Z")
P.S. I hope I didnā€™t ruffle any feathers. I donā€™t mean that anyone interested in smilies is stupid. After all Iā€™ve spent countless hours in the past month dealing with them. But when I first suggested to my colleagues ā€œletā€™s add some smilies since we have periodic requests in ATMBā€, little did I think that it would generate this amount of discussion / rancor / etc. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/57 "2002-06-05T17:04:03Z")
> [@](#): > > I donā€™t mean that anyone interested in smilies is stupid. Yeah, but youā€™re a nicer guy than I, Arnold. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/58 "2002-06-05T17:30:52Z")
Vote? we get to vote? Where! ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/59 "2002-06-05T18:30:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > Sue Duhnym - I will point out that Iā€™m doing most of the work here, and I donā€™t mind that weā€™re only choosing one smiley. As long as you donā€™t mind. (here would be a good place for a dubious smiley) I like **Obfusciatrist** ā€™s idea about eliminating some smileys and agree with **wikkit** that :o šŸ˜• ;j and šŸ†’ are mostly useless. I can see the :woosh: and :smack: smilies completely taking over for šŸ˜• and :o I guess I just hate to see so many potentially useful smileys get eliminated because weā€™re only choosing one. Donā€™t get me wrong, a lot were stupid too. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198/60 "2002-06-05T21:22:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Elenfair \* > \*\*Vote? we get to vote? Where! \*\* I think thereā€™s a bunch of polls in IMHOā€¦ at least, they were there last time I looked. šŸ™‚ F\_X [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-one-new-smiley/112198.md?page=4)