For the first five or six years after I came across it in 1984, I assumed it was a visual representation of tongue-in-cheek (colon = upper and lower jaws, hyphen = tongue, parenthesis = bulging cheek) and used it accordingly.

While I agree that there is generally no substitute for that rarest of things, literacy, there are occasions when even the physical gesture of sticking your tongue firmly in your cheek is useful to remove ambiguity from a remark, turning it from mocking into self-mocking.

I believe there are some ex-pat mailing lists in the US where use of emoticons is actually forbidden.

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

"Emoticons are vile and for idiots"

Couldnt disagree more, especially in informal net-based conversations/emails with friends or acquaintances. I suspect that Hugo Rifkind is the kind of humourless toff who takes himself too seriously, and on whom sarcasm is lost.

Sarcasm is surely one of the last bastions of British humour. Without the benefit of facial expressions, actual laughs, and voice tone, how does one convey that a comment that is normally derogatory and/or insulting is said tongue-in-cheek? Would you risk a friend mis-interpreting your joke and taking offence? Thought not.

Emoticons are a good and informal way of conveying emotion and tone. If you dont like them, send an email to all in your Outlook address book and tell them so. Dont critisise us just because we have more fun than others.

.. and for good measure,

:-)
:-P
;-)
:-/
:-(

Pete, Cov,

Hugo, you sound like some of the English teachers I've had, who used to ban the use of capital letters, underlining and colours. This is fine as an artifical exercise, but these days we have all these plus bold, italics, bullet points, different fonts and font sizes and, of course, emoticions. All of these act as parallel channels that enhance communication. Why tie one hand behind your back, you silly little man? :-)

Matthew, Ringwood, UK

I have an emoticon I would like to use to show you what I think of your article, Mr Rifkind. However, if I use it, my comments will not be published.

This time, yes, words only will have to suffice.

Colin David Ashmead, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

They come in handy on bulletin boards because things get taken out of context to easily. Maybe reading comprehension isn't what it used to be. Also, sarcasm might be construed as flaming if not appropriately joke-marked.

The ones I don't like are the ~_o and ^_^ etc...

Dave, Philadelphia, PA

At the moment, I'm having a bit of trouble summing up what I think of this piece. I can't find the proper words: doubtless, there's a "cynical" in there, with "smirk" or possibly "raised eyebrows". However, I do know the best way to sum up my opinion, emoticon-wise:

¬_¬

Jack, Fareham, England

the nerd rage is strong with this one

John, Kevintown, Albania,

t('_'t)

lao, london,

"Emoticons are vile and for idiots."

A little bit steep, I think they definately serve a purpose :P

Tom, Essex,

(oo) Here's looking at you.

Jim Wallace, memphis, tn

Sure, it's better to have a real smile, but that's going to do absolutely nothing to help the context for text messages. Get with the times! Emoticons aren't only used for marking jokes. That's like believing students w/ laptops in class are ONLY using them for taking notes!
I bet you can't tell that I'm grinding my teeth as I write this, filled with disgust that someone could write such a Luddite article in a technology news section.

W., Kenso,

Have you been asked to appear on BBC2's Grumpy Old Men yet? ;-)...

Billal Ismail, London, United Kingdon

Rifkind has completely missed the point of emoticons. They are not used in formal written language but in forms like email and texting which are the equivalent of spoken english which is punctuated by tonal variations, gestures and body language.

Informal written language needs something to help it along and clarify and expand the meaning and emoticons do the job better than anything else I have seen. I would not expect to see one in a serious part of The Times but they are fine in email, notes on the kitchen table, postcards etc

ZB, Fuengirola, Spain

..cont..

These days, compression is at a premium (not just for bandwidth sake, but also as our time becomes more precious). In various forms (usually electronic), we like to communicate quickly and easily, in a manner more like a spoken conversation than correspondence. We have chosen, to shorten our sentence length and formality for the sake of economy.

So, we can use the tools of symbolic compression to achieve clarity in a tight space. Sometimes a response to a particular comment might be an ambiguous single word reply, made completely unambiguous by the application of an "emoticon".

Why would we choose not to clarify ourselves, when we have already chosen to shorten our sentence lengths and response times?

arkizzle, Ireland,

Hugo, you've got it all wrong, its no longer a joke marker its a subtle indicator to denote humor or lighten the text. Its easier and more intuative to say :-) instead of " I'm not really being serious in the previous text".
Maybe tell me what words you would use to replace :-)

Kieran Dundon, Dublin,

What about sarcasm? Such a thing is hard to convey in a medium not known for careful readers.

Not all of us have the time to so carefully word our writing that people immediately know we are joking. Perhaps big, important professional writers live by their words, but the rest of us have work to do. :-)

Mike Johnson, san clemente, ca

"Which means, I suppose, they are actually quite useful in that they have you ever allow the rest of us to considered the digitally identify the many hardships in kind of barely literate, a pigeon’s life?"

Say what ?
I think emotocons are kind of handy when sometimes words fail us humans :-)~
They can also turn a sort of dead pan statement into a joke.
Just another way to express one's self !!!??? semi-graphically.

Paul, Union City, NJ

Emoticons have many uses and can come in very handy, even for the very literate. They are especially useful for conveying tone. Often words can be misconstrued by the reader and without some sort of cue the reader may take a joke literally. That sort of symbol did not exist for writers before the emoticon beyond simply stating they were joking, which of course ruins the entire exchange. So I feel it is entirely appropriate to celebrate the invention of the emoticon. There really is no need to feel such anger against something you simply do not understand.

Jenny, Champaign, United States

Quote: "Which means, I suppose, they are actually quite useful in that they have you ever allow the rest of us to considered the digitally identify the many hardships in kind of barely literate, a pigeon’s life? At slack-jawed, Pigeon Cam you emotional retards who, on paper, would put a smiley face in circle every time they dotted an “i”."

Sorry?

Slack Jaw, Amsterdam,

..continued..

These days, compression is at a premium (not just for bandwidth sake, but also as our time becomes more precious). In various forms (usually electronic), we like to communicate quickly and easily, in a manner more like a spoken conversation than correspondence. We have chosen, to shorten our sentence length and formality for the sake of economy.

So, we can use the tools of symbolic compression to achieve clarity in a tight space. Sometimes a response to a particular comment might be an ambiguous single word reply, made completely unambiguous by the application of an "emoticon".

Why would we choose not to clarify ourselves, when we have already chosen to shorten our sentence lengths and response times?

arkizzle, Ireland,

My, someone has a bizarre grudge. Did that bully Angry Face beat you up as a child or something? Not only do you feel the obligation to harshly insult the emoticon itself, but everyone who uses it.

Emoticons are quick and a reassurance of your vocal tone when sharing quick, short statements, namely over IMs and text messages. It could take a whole paragraph to sum up your state of emotion, when a mere :/ does just fine.

So :P to you and good day. :]

Bryce, Durango, Colorado

One big problem with your statement: "We already have tools for conveying humour, and plenty of other emotions. They are called 'words'." There is more than just the letters of a word.

When spoken, whether it is funny :-), a sad statement :-(, or you're being facetious ;-), you are able to use different inflections in your voice. When read in an e-mail, text message, or other written communication, the inflections of your voice can not be heard and therefore must be implied by using your "emoticons".

Scott, Las Vegas, USA

It seems you have forgotten one of the limitations of your craft.

Pure words on a page have emphasis, no intonation, they lack the subtlety of spoken language. This acceptable if you are speaking to a close friend or even people from the same sub-culture and frame of reference, but when you are talking to people from unknown places, emoticons aren't simply cute, they provide vital cues as to whether the person is being serious or sarcastic. There has been many a fight prevented through the use of emoticons and many that could have been prevented had they been used.

Chris, berkeley, CA

Wow, Hugo, who shot your dog? I feel the emoticon is a fantastic thing. You see, Mr.Angrypants, there is one specific thing words alone cannot always communicate, and that is one's tone of voice. For example, one can say "I love you." Now, as I'm sure anyone who has been in an up-and-down relationship can attest to, there's more than one way to say it. There's "I love you" (sincere), "I love you" (defeated), "I love you" (frustrated), etc. Secondly, people don't often write the way they speak and express face to face. A joke told between friends can usually be carried simply by the delivery and the smile and laugh at the end to signify the joke has ended. That sort of face-to-face interaction can be crucial, and the emoticon is a simple way to translate those expressions. I could say "You're a jackass," and put a :-) on the end to let you know I'm kidding, however, I think leaving it off will express my true emotion to your sour attitude more. So am i kidding? :P

Jette, Atlanta, GA

You are really angry over something that you think isn't important.

Matthew, Beaumont, CA

sometimes, when no words can express it, but a smile can, and you're not face to face with a person...

:)

that will do.

Javi, New York City, USA

I suppose the author hates acronyms too

Aaron, Tampa, FL

I like to see a smile. Anwhere, anytime, from anything.
Even a text one :-)

Gloria Fish, London,

Well, :P to you!

Don't forget that a lot of Internet users are not exactly the eloquentest of people, please.

starling, Lancaster,

You've really missed something here: people use emoticons (and all the other abbreviations common in emails and text messages) for speed, not because they can't write. Don't believe me? Well, the next time someone sends you a text message with an emoticon, reply by typing this entire article into your cell phone.

Stephen, Ottawa, Canada