Improving board communication using emoticons

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Selene
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Improving board communication using emoticons

Post by Selene »

This is the first of a new series of posts on things we can do to enhance our message board experience. Special thanks to Lizzy for getting things started by writing this for us on the effective use of emoticons!  :applause:


As the message board grows larger every year, so do the topics and conversations and with this, the chance of misunderstanding or misinterpreting each other. The message board is a fantastic tool to communicate with each other, but it has limitations. You cannot see one's facial expressions or body language through the written word, so in order to try to avoid misunderstandings, we have to find other ways of expressing ourselves. This is where the ‘emoticons’ come in handy.

Let’s just take a look at the following sentence.

Oh, that’s just great.

What does it mean? Does it mean you are happy about something or are you annoyed about something? People may interpret your comment exactly the wrong way, why? Because they cannot see you laugh or raise your eyebrows.
Now let’s try adding an emoticon.

Oh, that’s just great. :D  
Oh, that’s just great. :x

In the first sentence it’s pretty obvious you’re happy about something,
In the second it’s clear that you are not.

Especially in heated discussions or topics that are of a more serious nature, emotions can run high and even though you know what you mean by your comments, someone else might not. So before you hit the ‘submit’ button, reread your entry. Does it say what you want it to say? Try to always use the emoticons when you’re expressing an emotion, it will help people understand you better and make conversations run smoother.

When you're posting a message, you'll see a number of emoticons to the left of your message. However, these are just a selection, if you hit the 'view more emoticons' button, you'll get a large variety of emoticons. Please allow time for all the emoticons to 'load'. When used in a message, you won't see the emoticon, but the code instead. If you want to make sure you have the right emoticon, press 'Preview' before hitting  the 'Submit' button, then you'll see the emoticons used in your post.

If there’s an emoticon you miss here on the board, please let us know and we’ll do our best to find a suitable one.

Wishing you wonderful and fruitful conversations!  :shake:
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