# Pre-smiley poll debate **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 13, 2002, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763 "2002-05-13T06:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/1 "2002-05-13T06:52:37Z")
Ok, we have three or so days to prepare for the new smiley poll (which you may read about in ATMB—you do check ATMB, right?). So what we need here is some good, old-fashioned politics. What smiley do you want, and why do you feel others should want it? Or, if you don’t want it at all, why? To me a smiley should encompass expression that is normally not easily conveyed in words. This is my primary motivation in picking a smiley, and why I support the first in my list to follow the most. First, [Arnold’s page](http://home.earthlink.net/~awinkelried/smpoll1/) Now, the smileys I strongly support or don’t support:[ul][li] **#5/#30 dubious** —The difference between the two is largely a matter of taste, but I think it touches a feeling of dubiousness that no smiley matches without having to sound off some remark about skepticism that may seem harsh when it wasn’t intended to be.[/li][li] **#10 Laughing** —We don’t really have a laughing smiley. I often substitute the 😛 smiley for a “punny” laughter, but it never quite seems right, though big grin does work well here already, even if it doesn’t look like it is laughing. I just like the look of this one over :**D[/li][li]**#23 smashie\*\*—Obviously no coincidence that the number twenty-three coincides with the most debated smiley on these boards. I like smashie, though it fails my criteria above. I honestly cannot think of an expression this encapsulates well that isn’t already covered by : **mad** : or by normal words. I am hoping someon can change my mind on this one, though. I do so love smashie.[/li][li] **#43 donkey** —Heh, classic for those of us in the Merry Melodies crowd. Works better than #24 (duh) for a realization of one’s own idiotic behavior, and also has cute contempt for the ass-ish-ness of others. But because of the latter this could be tricky… using something like this out of the pit could very well be considered a personal attack. I’ll sit on the fence, here, and besides, we’ve already got :**wally anyway.[/li][li]**#20 foil\*\*—A very good smiley, I think, and would definitely find some use on the boards. But the same fear that hits me on #43 also hits me here: could be seen as a personal attack and might encourage such behavior out of the Pit. We’ve already got :**wally anyway.[/li][li]#31 sherlock**—A very nice smiley, good for those of you who toil and find cites in GD, GQ, IMHO, and so on. Also could be a sarcastic aside as in #43 and #20, but probably not so common a usage. Looks fun.[/ul][/li] Well, that’s my call. Please note that this is a pre-IMHO discussion about smileys… if you don’t want any more you’re welcome to add your reasons here. Maybe **Arnold** will have a “no new smileys” vote allowed in his polls to let your voice be heard, too. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/2 "2002-05-13T13:11:35Z")
Initial reactions :- [ul][li]I prefer #21 to #22 as far as “yuk” icons are concerned; #28 to #29 for “whooshed” and #5 over #30 for “dubious”, although that choice is **far** closer.[_]I have no emotional attachment to “smashie” (as I was on hols during the temp board phase)[_]Of the others, the only one that really appeals is the “sherlock” smiley!![/ul][/li] Gp ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/3 "2002-05-13T13:12:57Z")
Oh, and #15 - “rainbow”… Might that become a “gay” smiley??? Gp ---
**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:** [May 13, 2002, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/4 "2002-05-13T15:41:58Z")
I really like the laughing smilie, the #30 version of dubious, the ambivalent :Z smilie, and the #21 version of “yuk”. ---
**Author:** ![Arwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7c8e57/32.png) [@Arwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwen)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/5 "2002-05-13T17:17:23Z")
For the 3rd time!! Okay, I like 5 and 28, and am warming up to 21. I also had a nice tale written up about how overuse of smileys for things that are easily said in words contributes to less intelligent posting, longer page loading times, and the general downfall of society. You can imagine the rest, since I’m not going to type it all in again. thank you for your time. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/6 "2002-05-13T17:38:20Z")
I like 5, 6, 7, 10, 13 (Arr!), 23, and 25. Most of these would not be usefull all the time, but I like em anyway. Oh, and the laughing one also. :wally ---
**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:** [May 13, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/7 "2002-05-13T17:38:55Z")
I really like the laughing smilie, the #30 version of dubious, the ambivalent :Z smilie, and the #21 version of “yuk”. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2002, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/8 "2002-05-13T18:38:33Z")
It would not behoove an impartial moderator to mention that one could curry favour with said moderator by expressing admiration for a certain swiss smiley. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2002, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/9 "2002-05-13T18:40:55Z")
I will quote flowbark, from another thread, because I think that this was a point well worth considering: > [@](#): > > Let me make a recommendation concerning emoticons: > > As I have asserted earlier, the core mission of the SDMB is to fight ignorance and make wisecracks. > > Any smilie that persists for longer than a week becomes an old joke and is thus unsuitable for wisecracking. > > Generally speaking, a new smilie should act to convey an idea that isn’t conveyed particularly well with words. More specifically a good smilie will usually act as an emotional softener, in one way or another. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2002, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/10 "2002-05-13T18:45:45Z")
BTW - I notice that the HTML table showing smilies seemed to appear OK on Opera 5.0/MacOS but it’s showing wrong (the right column is much smaller than the other ones) on IE 5.0 / Windows 2000. Anyone else have that problem? I have my favourites but since I’ll be tallying the votes I’ll keep mum. Concerning the swiss smiley - I’ll vote for it out of sentimental reasons but I realize it would only be moderately useful at the SDMB. However, it would come in handy for expressing the sentiment “I don’t want to get involved in this dispute” or “I am neutral on the subject.” 🙂 (shameless plug) ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/11 "2002-05-13T19:03:53Z")
I love the tin foil smiley, #20. Perfect for GD. #34 rocks as well. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2002, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/12 "2002-05-13T19:30:52Z")
I love a bunch of 'em, especially #25-Hijack, #29-Woosh, and #34 :gobsmacked: but… I don’t see another way to do this without being disingenuous: I’m not going to lobby for one of my own smilies without admitting it’s mine. I created about 6 of the smilies (:foil: :evil: :marlo: both :yuk: and (para) :noid: ) and the smiley that I most strongly want is one I created: #21 (or #22): Yuk How often in the course of a discussion in CS have you talked about the Starland Vocal Band and needed :yuk:? How often in MPSIMS have you discussed a bodily function of yours and needed :yuk: ? ( :yuk: and TMI - two things that go better together!) GD: Discussing the latest spewage from GodHatesFags and needed :yuk: A vB coding problem that made your magnum opus look like corned beef hash being discussed in ATMB? :yuk: is your answer! Cecil discussing placenta-eating parties in Comments on Cecil’s Columns? :yuk: will make your feelings clear! I could go on and on Every single forum could benefit from :yuk: so VOTE YUK PS: Arnold, I just realized that I run the risk of splitting the YUK vote. Would it be possible to combine #21-22 and having a run-off vote for the best YUK later if it wins? If that’s not something you want to do, would I cause problems if I withdraw #22? I just keep having this mental image of #21 getting (say) 25 votes and #22 getting 12 votes, and both losing to something that got 27 votes. PSS: IE5.5, far-right column smaller than the others for me as well Thanks!! Fenris ---
**Author:** ![fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fish_in_the_sky)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/13 "2002-05-13T20:18:44Z")
Oh yeah, I am so voting YUK. I’ve thought we needed a YUK smiley for the longest time. I think I prefer 21 over 22. I’m mostly amibilant towards the rest. They’re cute, but I can’t really see them adding much to a discussion. Although a dubious smiley might be helpful occassionally. Most of the other emotions, though, could be just as easily expressed with good ol’ fashioned words. ---
**Author:** ![fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fish_in_the_sky)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/14 "2002-05-13T20:21:25Z")
Woah. “amibilant” is, of course, the Old English spelling of “ambivilent.” ---
**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:** [May 13, 2002, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/15 "2002-05-13T21:00:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > Would it be possible to combine #21-22 and having a run-off vote for the best YUK later if it wins? All right. I’ll update the page this evening to combine those two. Lunatic13 - do you mean ambiv **a** lent? 😛 ---
**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:** [May 13, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/16 "2002-05-13T21:01:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > **All right. I’ll update the page this evening to combine those two. Lunatic13 - do you mean ambiv** a\*\*lent? 😛 \*\* You _ARE_ the man! I promise never to :yuk: one of your posts. For a while, at least. 😉 Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/17 "2002-05-13T21:06:03Z")
Regarding the HTML rendering problem, could it have something to do with using five table cells with a width of 25% each? It aligns fine with four cells at 25% width. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/18 "2002-05-13T21:30:55Z")
From the start, let me tell you that I did two of the submissions (and may add another if I can finish it tonight before the total gets to 50. Not likely.). Mine are #27 and #28. When I sent them to Arnold, I told myself that I shouldn’t tell anyone on the boards which are mine until after the voting. But I’ve realized that no one likes or dislikes me enough for it to matter. So I’m telling so that you can discern for yourself how much vanity is influencing my remarks. After seeing what others have sent in, I’ve decided that whoosh is not needed. I like the way that picture came out and it gave me a thrill when **Enderw24** used it by proxy in the ATMB thread, but it’s a sentiment that is easily put into words. While it (along with many others) would be nice sometimes, we can’t waste our one smilie on something of less than maximum utility. The reason for the dunce smilie is to express a feeling I have quite often on the board: That I’m an idiot. I’d love to have something like that for those times when I hit submit just a few seconds too soon on something I didn’t proofread well (or shouldn’t have written at all). The duh smilie would do just as well, to tell the truth. Aside from dunce or duh, I think I’d be most likely to use dubious, yuk, laughing, or gobsmacked. Though I think the last one could use a different name. jawdrop, perhaps? ---
**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:** [May 13, 2002, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/19 "2002-05-13T21:45:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crusoe \* > could it have something to do with using five table cells with a width of 25% each? (imagine smiley of hand slapping forehead) Maybe that could be the problem, yeah. :o ---
**Author:** ![fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fish_in_the_sky)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763/20 "2002-05-13T22:21:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > **All right. I’ll update the page this evening to combine those two. Lunatic13 - do you mean ambiv** a\*\*lent? 😛 \*\* oh jesus hell… I even looked it up. I think we need an I’m-an-idiot-that-can’t-type smiley. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-smiley-poll-debate/108763.md?page=2)