[LINK] :-)

[rfmcdonald]

Some news outlets have commemorated happily, some others not, the 25th anniversary of the use of the first emoticon, the old genial smiley face, by computer scientist Scott Fahlman in September 1982. Myself, I think they fill a critical gaps in language usage on the Internet, allowing people to grasp onto a smidgen of authentic emotional resonance in a medium where such is all too rare.