jrockway's Journal: **No Title**

I use smilies a lot when writing on the Internet; let me explain why. I often encounter what I consider to be dumb arguments (for example) when reading mailing lists or slashdot and feel the need to reply. I'm not one to beat around the bush; I say what I mean. So, after I say something like "That's a very bad idea." I add a smiley. Why? Because I want a way of saying, "although I think your idea is really fucking dumb, I still like you as a person and would like to continue this discussion". That's a lot to type, though, so I write :) instead.

I really like talking with people, so I don't want to offend them when I disagree. It generally works. I like to be able to disagree with people and still be able to chat with them :)