:-) the normal smiling face, appended to a sentence or an article means 'this is a joke' or 'this is supposed to make you laugh' :-> normal smiling face with deformed lips, same as above except person who submitted it has problems with their lips :-{) normal smiling face with a mustache, same as #1 except submitter has mustache :-} normal smiling face with pretty lips, same as #1 except person that submitted it is wearing lipstick or some other lip appearance improving device :-| no expression face, 'that comment doesn't phase me' :-( sad face, 'that comment makes me sad [mad]' ;-) smiling face gets his lights punched out, submitter is a practical joker who played one too many and got beat up ;-| no expression face gets his lights punched out, says nothing but still gets beat up ;-( sad face gets his lights punched out, sad or mad and got beat up, or 'that makes me so mad that if I ever see you I'll punch your lights out' :-\ popeye smiling face, for people who look like popeye ;-\ popeye gets his lights punched out :-] biting sarcasm smiling face, used when sarcasm is intended, since we cannot inflect our voice over the net :-[ biting criticism smiling face, ditto for criticism :*) drunk smiling face, for those of us who like to get intoxicated before or while reading netnews :~) smiling face needs a nosejob, no explanation necessary 8-) submitter wears glasses *<|:-) submitter is Santa Claus (Ho Ho Ho) o-) submitter is a cyclops (-: normal smiling face except that submitter is left-handed 8:] normal smiling face except that submitter is a gorilla 0-) normal smiling face except that submitter is an arc-welder %-^ submitter is Picasso @-) submitter is a Cyclops *:O) submitter is a Bozo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ =:-) long hair 3:-) curly hair [:-) flattop #:-) crewcut ?:-) wavy hair, parted on right *:-) electric hair (:-) bald X:-) Aunt Jemima K:-) Aunt Jemima's sister <:-) conehead 8*:-) bow on head (little girl) ~p :-) pipe smoker \ 8-] FDR >B=) punk rocker :-)8 bow tie I:-) blockhead {8<> Daffy Duck ::) of swine species [8-] Frankenstein :=) broad nose .-) one-eyed I8${} Ubangi - bone in nose X8-{} Ubangi's wife *8-O Ubangi's child i:o Ubangi's baby +(:-) Propeller beanie d:-) baseball player (hat on sideways) :-Z tobacco chewer :-7 tobacco chewer, getting ready to spit :^| broken nose *(H-) downhill skier *8=(: blubbering idiot 9-) wink, left 6-) wink, right (D:-] General O==):-{ Uncle Sam