Re: Smiley Punctuation

[Fred Wersan <wersan -at- ZEUS -dot- MA30 -dot- BULL -dot- COM>]

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Subject:      Re: Smiley Punctuation

Another question: when using a smiley at the end of a parenthetical
remark, is another paren necessary? (this is an example :-) (this is
another example :-)) I've seen it rendered both ways.

This may be trivial stuff, but I like to think of it as being in on the
ground floor of creating a new language. (And what's the correct spelling
of smiley/smilie anyway? :-})

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Yea, but doesn't this look like a smiley with a double chin? :-))

And this looks like a guy with a little under-lip facial hair :-})


On the one hand, this thread could be viewed as a lot of silliness. On the
other, it is a discussion about clarity of communication. What troubles me a
little is that to the extent that it is serious, people are asking for guide-
lines for something that ought to stay in the realm of playfulness, free of
shoulds and shouldn'ts.

Maybe, as technical writers, we spend so much time being prescriptive in our
writing that we seek certainty in all things. I suspect that this prescriptive
aspect of our natures is one reason for all the flaming on this list. Too many
people think that they know the "right" way to do things and make sure everyone
else knows it. That, and our passion for our work, no doubt. (smiley face goes
here) (if you aren't sure how to spell smiley, call it an emoticon)

Fred

-----------------------------------
Fred Wersan
Bull HN Information Systems
MA30/807
300 Concord Rd.
Billerica, Mass. 01821
508-294-2322
wersan -at- zeus -dot- ma30 -dot- bull -dot- com
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