Talk here about just about anything associated with British comics or story papers and the industry that does not fit in any other forum.
There are separate fora open to registered members for discussing specific comics, artists, websites etc.
I take your point Raven. I'm not too happy about using emoticons myself (or should that be "I'm not ") but I use them to avoid having comments misconstrued as they have been in the past (either due to me rushing a post that came across as curt, or it being misread by someone because they were in a rush). Better to be safe than sorry.
I understand your comparison to the printed word in books, but in that context there is often descriptive text to convey the emotion. (eg: "...he suggested, in a friendly manner, hoping the words wouldn't seem confrontational".) The way I see it, an emoticon is simply a shorthand version of that.
Lew Stringer wrote:
I understand your comparison to the printed word in books, but in that context there is often descriptive text to convey the emotion. (eg: "...he suggested, in a friendly manner, hoping the words wouldn't seem confrontational".) The way I see it, an emoticon is simply a shorthand version of that.
I see them more like someone holding up a big placard reading "LAUGH NOW!" every time they've told a joke! A less subtle version of Jimmy Tarbuck's "Ho-ho."
Horses for courses really. If they convey the intended emotion or understanding without me having to explain in several consecutive posts what my actual original intent was , then they have served their purpose and saved me time.
Not a fan of smilies, even though I do use them. I think they can be helpful on forums as posts are often quite "stream of consciousness", whereas if you were writing a more considered piece then it'd be easier to imply intention.
Erm, or something.
(Incidentally, I don't think there was anything wrong with dwitefry's jokes. Surely implying that Prince Philip is a touch xenophobic isn't all that controversial?)
I just thought I'd say (as i started all this) that I quite like emoticons but feel that they're best kept for use with friends or in a conversational setting like MSN or Facebook Chat where you're lacking facial expressions that would be important in a real life conversation - with some exceptions.
PS: I DID spend ages reading Valiant...and Lion too.
") but I use them to avoid having comments misconstrued as they have been in the past (either due to me rushing a post that came across as curt, or it being misread by someone because they were in a rush). Better to be safe than sorry. 
