Full Frontal Irony...Isn't that a bit of an oxymoron? ;-)

When I first came to the Mudcat, I think I was a bit snobby about the use of emoticons. I think I figured that anyone with any sense of irony at all would understand exactly what I meant, and the rest would probably just shake their heads and ignore me. I thought emoticons were silly.

I found that this is simply not the case. There are people who, from my experience of them here, I can reasonably expect will understand me if I don't use the emoticons. But even with these people, I can't always count on them understanding. Then, there are quite a lot of people who just don't know me well enough yet to know that this is a part of my personal style.

For people who have been here a while, you might expect everyone to know where you are coming from because they ought to know you by now. Keep in mind, though, that there are new people coming to the Mudcat all the time, who are just learning about you. It's probably a good idea to give these people at least some oportunities to see you while you're not being subtle, so they can understand by comparison when you are being ironic, and when you are not.

I do find, now that I've been around this form of communication for a little while, that I am beginning to see emoticons in much the same way as I would percieve body language. Sometimes more subtle ironic humor requires a very flat affect. Sometimes a little body language is ok.

For me, I guess I look at it as a judgement call. I usually figure I'm taking some risk if I don't use the emoticons, and I decide if I think it's worth it for the amount of humor that can be derived by leaving them out. Sometimes I use them, and sometimes I don't.

Full Frontal Irony...Isn't that a bit of an oxymoron?

Carol