sux: apps that change your emoticons

You know what really cheeses me off? When software changes your perfectly legitimate emoticon into something else. Like, when an IM window changes your :) into a dorky yellow circle thing. Or when Word changes it to a slightly less dorky but still annoying white circle thing.

Hey software guys, here's a thought. When I type :) I don't want a WalMart face in there. I WANT A COLON AND A PARENTHESES.

I can just imagine how they dreamed this up. They're sitting in the boardroom, and someone's grandpa says "What's the deal with those weird punctuation marks in there? Is that some kind of code?" Then when they find out they're all, "Oh that's cute." But after a few minutes, it's, "Ugh, I don't like turning my head sideways. Plus it doesn't even really look like a smiley face. I know! Let's replace all these tasteful and meaningful emotes with some stupid childish drawing! Hey! We might even be able to market these things!"

I especially hate the little tongue guy. You know, the one that replaces this :P with a drooling doofus. It doesn't look anything like what it's replacing. That particular change actually REMOVES the emotive element for me. It makes me feel stupid for even looking at it.

In summary: Emoticons used to be a way of communicating basic emotions in an otherwise sterile environment. They were clever and inventive. They had a meaning all their own, and they were ours. But now that's gone. Now it's all just candy and technicolor noise.

Thanks a lot, gramps.