one emoticon that always irked me in text mode was the way LOL was used. folks would tack in on to the end of something they just typed and it always looked (to me) like they were just tickled pink at their own wit, and I was being *urged to see the humor of it all. now, I could see using it to respond to someone else's post, but laughing at one's own joke.... I tend to have the same reaction to other forms.