Emoticon

3 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  emoticon
       n : a representation of a facial expression (as a smile or
           frown) created by typing a sequence of characters in
           sending email; ":-( and :-) are emoticons"

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:



  emoticon /ee-moh'ti-kon/ n. [common] An ASCII glyph used to indicate an
     emotional state in email or news. Although originally intended mostly as
     jokes, emoticons (or some other explicit humor indication) are virtually
     required under certain circumstances in high-volume text-only
     communication forums such as Usenet; the lack of verbal and visual cues
     can otherwise cause what were intended to be humorous, sarcastic,
     ironic, or otherwise non-100%-serious comments to be badly
     misinterpreted (not always even by {newbie}s), resulting in arguments
     and {flame war}s.
  
     Hundreds of emoticons have been proposed, but only a few are in common
     use. These include:
  
   :-)
         `smiley face' (for humor, laughter, friendliness,
         occasionally sarcasm)
    
   :-(
         `frowney face' (for sadness, anger, or upset)
    
   ;-)
         `half-smiley' ({ha ha only serious}); also known as
         `semi-smiley' or `winkey face'.
    
   :-/
         `wry face'
    
     (These may become more comprehensible if you tilt your head sideways,
     to the left.)
  
     The first two listed are by far the most frequently encountered.
     Hyphenless forms of them are common on CompuServe, GEnie, and BIX; see
     also {bixie}. On {Usenet}, `smiley' is often used as a generic term
     synonymous with {emoticon}, as well as specifically for the happy-face
     emoticon.
  
     It was long thought that the emoticon was invented by one Scott
     Fahlman on the CMU {bboard} systems sometime between early 1981 and
     mid-1982. He later wrote: "I wish I had saved the original post, or at
     least recorded the date for posterity, but I had no idea that I was
     starting something that would soon pollute all the world's communication
     channels." [GLS confirms that he remembers this original posting].
  
     There is a rival claim by one KevinMcKenzie, who seems to have
     proposed the smiley on the MsgGroup mailing list, April 12 1979. It
     seems likely these two inventions were independent.
  
     Note for the {newbie}: Overuse of the smiley is a mark of loserhood!
     More than one per paragraph is a fairly sure sign that you've gone over
     the line.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  emoticon
       
          /ee-moh'ti-kon/ An {ASCII} {glyph} used to indicate an
          emotional state in {electronic mail} or {news}.  Although
          originally intended mostly as jokes, emoticons (or some other
          explicit humour indication) are virtually required under
          certain circumstances in high-volume text-only communication
          forums such as {Usenet}; the lack of verbal and visual cues
          can otherwise cause what were intended to be humorous,
          sarcastic, ironic, or otherwise non-100%-serious comments to
          be badly misinterpreted (not always even by {newbie}s),
          resulting in arguments and {flame war}s.
       
          Hundreds of emoticons have been proposed, but only a few are
          in common use.  These include:
       
           :-)	"smiley face" (for humour, laughter,
          	friendliness, occasionally sarcasm)
       
           :-(	"frowney face" (for sadness, anger, or upset)
       
           ;-)	"half-smiley" (ha ha only serious); also
          	known as "semi-smiley" or "winkey face".
       
           :-/	"wry face"
       
          These may become more comprehensible if you tilt your head
          sideways, to the left.  The first two are by far the most
          frequently encountered.  Hyphenless forms of them are common
          on {CompuServe}, {GEnie}, and {BIX}; see also {bixie}.  On
          {Usenet}, "smiley" is often used as a generic term synonymous
          with emoticon, as well as specifically for the happy-face
          emoticon.
       
          It appears that the emoticon was invented by one Scott Fahlman
          on the {CMU} {bboard} systems around 1980.  He later wrote: "I
          wish I had saved the original post, or at least recorded the
          date for posterity, but I had no idea that I was starting
          something that would soon pollute all the world's
          communication channels."  [{GLS} confirms that he remembers
          this original posting].
       
          As with exclamation marks, overuse of the smiley is a mark of
          loserhood!  More than one per paragraph is a fairly sure sign
          that you've gone over the line.
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
          (1994-12-02)