> The problem is that often there just isn't enough context to realize > that the person is trying to be humorous/ironic/sarcastic. In > traditional print, you'd have lots and lots of written words to > realize this. In realspace, you can judge the body language of the > person making the statement. In brief email exchanges, sometimes you > need substitutes for those cues - and thats the purpose of the smiley. > > I don't think the assumption is that the person won't "get" the > joke... its to make sure that people realize it _is_ a joke.
Yes, I think this is exactly right. Email, forums, listserv posts, IMs, and the like lack the cues and/or the space to ensure that the reader knows you're joking. I resisted emoticons for many years before I came (somewhat reluctantly) to this conclusion. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
