Shades wrote:Simple:
They make the board look juvenile.
As Nehor pointed out, this is bad...how? We pride ourselves on being juvenile. It's part of our charm. ;)
Shades wrote:They make the board look unprofessional.
And we're trying to look "professional"...why? Again, what are the merits of professionalism? Also, there are plenty of professional message boards that utilize smileys. Besides, I want to post here to get AWAY from my professional life.
Shades wrote:They make the board look like a lazy third-grader's scrapbooking project.
Again, this is bad...how? LOL
Shades wrote:People use them as a crutch to avoid having to use the language effectively.
I disagree. I don't think that smileys are used as anymore of a crutch than other "web" abbreviations such as "LOL", "ROTFL", etc. Actually, there are times when smileys can communicate the intention of what is being said more effectively. One of the disadvantages to communicating on a message board is that you CANNOT see body language, eye contact, etc. Smileys can help put some of those types of intangibles on a more even playing field.