`
`Net notes
`Emoticons
`
`Sam Mohun
`Thu 19 Sep 2002 13.35 EDT
`1. Twenty years ago today a computer scientist from the Carnegie Mellon University,
`Pittsburgh, USA named Scott Fahlman first suggested the use of a smiley, or emoticon,
`as a way of expressing sarcasm of irony in emails to the humourously challenged. ;-)
`
`2. Fahlman's September 19 1982 message posted on a university message board has
`gone down in internet folklore as the year zero of smiley language. :-)
`
`3. Fahlman explains the origins of the emoticon in his smiley lore. The emoticon has
`become so popular that an Emoticon News Bureau has been created to monitor events
`in the world of the smiley. :~/
`
`4. Yet despite this momentous invention, Fahlman has never made a penny from it. He
`did not realise what a popular new language he had invented on that September day,
`he never thought to patent it or even to keep a record of the day himself. :-(
`
`5. However, a debate has arisen over whether Fahlman is the true inventor of the
`smiley. According to the Internet Tip's brief history of the smiley, a man called Kevin
`MacKenzie sent the first smiley in an email on April 12 1979. His emoticon was the
`symbol -) meaning "tongue in cheek". 8-]
`
`6. No matter who invented it, the Hacker's Dictionary describes the emoticon as a vital
`way to prevent misunderstandings between hackers that could lead to arguments and
`flame wars! :-0
`
`7. Smileys have evolved so far that they are now used in everyday internet
`conversations along with other abbreviations such as lol and brb. The Newbie Profile
`provides a useful, if somewhat confusing guide to using smileys in messages. 8~/
`
`8. In March 1993 O'Reilly & Sanderson published a 93-page emoticon dictionary by
`David Sanderson. This has become the bible of emoticon users but is rapidly becoming
`out of date. The Smiley Dictionary is just one of hundreds of internet dictionaries that
`detail the many uses of the smiley. :-P
`
`9. Not everyone is so taken with smileys though. Penn Jillette, the American comedian
`
`1
`
`APMT 1074
`
`
`
`and magician, described the smiley as "the hateful :-) which means 'just kidding' and is
`used by people who would dot their i's with little circles and should have their eyes
`dotted with Drano". href="http://www.spesh.com/lee/ns/smiley.html"
`target="_NEW">Neal Stephenson is another smiley-hater and has been credited with
`founding the canonical anti-smiley screed. :-@
`
`10. Among the more obscure smileys are: =):-) Uncle Sam, +-(:-) The Pope, %-~ Pablo
`Picasso, 7:-) Ronald Reagan and 2:-) Elvis. 8-)
`
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