h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am reluctantly thinking of starting to use 'proper' smilies.
I've been using :> for about 8 years now, and i've never used the pretty smilies here.
So let's give it a go.
Ready?

Did that work?

Well, that worked.
Test over.

I'll probably still use :> lots though :>

So far all my attempts to incorporate smileys into conversations have resulted in embarrasing failures such as

and


I might give in.



Wahay!

Personally I avoid 'proper' smilies like the plague.
Why? because they never convey the emotion I want them to, or in the way I want them to.
I tend to use


^^ Embaressed smile
^_^ Unamused smile
@_@ URK!
~_@ WTF!?
~_~ Completely unamused.
=) Standard smiley
=P Slightly goofy (but not deliberately so) big smile w/ perspective(only works well with courier, though, otherwise it comes out as a stuck out tongue / raspherry)

which generally either have no 'proper' equivilant, or just don't give the same sort of impression.

I also rarely use smilies when I'm upset, or trying to be serious, as I feel they tend to undermine the emotion they are trying to convey, thus making them rather pointless.
So if you ever read an intense post by me that has no smilies, or maybe just a =( or >( at the end... beware!

^^

=)

Hey bro!
I only use :> these days.
Some of the H2G2 smileys can be useful such as