How do you break yourself of using smileys?

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Bunny

Marketing Team

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6,253 Posts
Karma: +94/-1
08:29pm Tue, Feb 23, 2010
Like Kimberley I blame the internet <>.


Other than forum posting, cause I have no desire of being broken of that, how do I break myself free of using smileys in informal pieces? I dont have the issue in formal pieces (like essays) but I do with things like letters, blogs, informal essays, etc.


Storm, you said you had done it, have you got any advice?

 

 

LtStorm

Fuzzy Teenage Bunny

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577 Posts
Karma: +0/-1
Just stop using them.  If you notice you used one, go back and remove it.

 

Bunny

Marketing Team

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6,253 Posts
Karma: +94/-1
But I use them for a reason...I'm tone deaf.

 

metallica48423

Growing Baby Bunny

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72 Posts
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Hell, I use smileys even in work emails to customers.

Many of our customers do the same.

Of course, there are situations and customers that dislike them.

Smileys can be unprofessional, but can also help guide the tone of a message that might otherwise come across harshly, and I've seen great success in using them in moderation.

 

TheLadyWrites

Fluffy Baby Bunny

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186 Posts
Karma: +2/-0
aaaaahhhh ummmm I'm supposed to stop using smilies? are you sure? lol

nahh... i just keep myself aware of what i'm writing for and how it needs to present then i am able to moderate usage.

 

umbrellaausten

Growing Baby Bunny

Regular Member
93 Posts
Karma: +3/-0
I use smileys when I write forum posts, chat, and send text messages. Other than that, I don't really use smileys. I learned the hard way to use smileys when communicating via text messages.

My friend thought that I was mad at her because I wasn't using smileys. So, no matter how silly it seems sometimes, I make sure that I use smileys.

 

EllyMarks

Fluffy Toddler Bunny

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260 Posts
Karma: +32/-1
Replace all smileys with an original onomatopoeia.

Your critics will be begging for you to get back into the emoticon habit before long, but, pfft, let's just say we always expressed ourselves the way that we wanted and felt was appropriate a the time.

Squee. Whee. Lawwwl!

 

QuirkyJessi

Fuzzy Kid Bunny

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477 Posts
Karma: +58/-0
Hmm.

Well if you don't have any issues with avoiding them in formal pieces, then I'm not sure I understand the problem? I read blogs that use emoticons and I don't have any problem with it. The same goes for letters. The only one that would be tricky might be the "informal essay," but then again, I'm not even sure what that means, lol! I only know essays to be formal pieces.

 

Bunny

Marketing Team

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6,253 Posts
Karma: +94/-1
What if it's a cover letter or to an agent?

I have issues when it's correspondence mostly.

 

QuirkyJessi

Fuzzy Kid Bunny

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477 Posts
Karma: +58/-0
I see cover letters and anything with an agent to be formal. Well, unless I were actually signed with an agent and had known them for years.... and then my email correspondence may end up using smiley faces. It's kind of like how when you're first hired at a job, you're very formal and professional, but once you get to know some of the people, you can loosen up (and potentially use smileys :P).

Otherwise, I just remind myself that if it's not clear what I'm saying or what my emotions are without using a smiley, then I should really consider re-writing the sentence anyway. I don't want to leave any room for confusion of if I'm being silly, sarcastic, etc.

 

Rosyrain

Fluffy Toddler Bunny

Regular Member
231 Posts
Karma: +33/-0
I use smileys all of the time, and this has even carried over to work emails for me as well...hell, my boss uses them!  The only thing that drives me crazy is the "lols" and "omgs."  I am getting to the age now where I am losing touch with young slang and I don't understand what a lot of them mean.

 

happyflowerlady

Fuzzy Kid Bunny

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311 Posts
Karma: +30/-0
I seldom use any kind of emoticons, and usually just say what I want to say. I hate emails or forum posts that are "lol" for every sentence. I think that it is way overused. Usually , you can tell by what someone is writing to you whether it is intended to be funny or not, Even worse (to my way of thinking) are the ones that use it in multiples, such as "lol, lol,lol". You know, I get the idea from the first one that it is supposed to be funny.
As far as stopping yourself from using them, I think it is just a matter of deciding where and when it is appropriate, and only use them in those circumstances.
If you are writing to someone who also uses emoticons, and expects to see them in the message, then I think that it is good to add them; so it just depends on what you are writing, and to whom.

 

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Jade Elizabeth (Bunny) is a Poet who has made 6253 posts since joining Creative Burrow on 12:15am Sun, Nov 2, 2008. Bunny was invited by No one (creator of this site).

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Jade Elizabeth is an eccentric young woman who enjoys writing stories and poems with hidden deeper meanings. She is quoted saying “Writing to me is not a hobby. It's a passion. It's something that lets my thoughts expose themselves, and my heart shine through where other art could not.”

Commonly her poems are inspired by love or depression, and are dedicated to the people who encouraged the emotion. Given the chance she will readily pull her poems apart, exposing the deeper and hidden meanings behind her words.

Her stories are usually unspoken messages to those close to her – giving every story a hidden meaning. Some things are better left unsaid, or in her case, expressed indirectly through stories.

Jade used to write Documentation for Simple Machines in her free time, but has since begun studying and working, which takes up most of her free time now.

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