New Class Specific Forums

[Vade]

Originally Posted by Arctic_Slicer

Fairly hypocritical of you to say rogues are the best class isn't it?

It was a joke, note the smiley

[Arctic_Slicer]

Originally Posted by Vade

It was a joke, note the smiley

I know that even without the smiley.

[Aredhel]

Then.....SMILE!!!!

[Arctic_Slicer]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

Then.....SMILE!!!!

I actually never use smiles for any forum posts. Never really saw the point. If people can't understand what my message is with words alone then it shows that I need to improve my writing skills in that area.

[Aredhel]

Actually, the smilies were just to emphisise what I was trying to say!

That's the problem with the written word! Everyone "hears" it differently and if you don't put some "personality" in them, it's hard to know. Therefore, some people act like a nut....some people don't!

[Arctic_Slicer]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

Actually, the smilies were just to emphisise what I was trying to say!

That's the problem with the written word! Everyone "hears" it differently and if you don't put some "personality" in them, it's hard to know. Therefore, some people act like a nut....some people don't!

While using them can help in some applications many people misuse them or overuse them causing more harm to the content of their statements than good. I have never used them and probabally never will. Like I said before they really are overrated.

[Cobalt Katze]

Perhaps, but in an internet culture where most people oversaturate their text with emoticons, conversational posting that isn't in a formal or editorial fashion usually gets interpreted as somewhat dry monotone. Don't ask me why, but it's just how it flows through my head when expectations take control. I'd say the concept is definately worth a thesis paper on

[Arctic_Slicer]

There are also forums that allow people to not display emoticons and people who use such features. People who allow themselves to depend too much on emoticons to get their messages across are more likely to have problems explaining things those people as their intent is lost without emoticons. There is also the other point of quoting things from forums to places without emoticons as well. Anything you post should be able to stand and be understood with text alone. If you can't do that then that is all the more purpose as to why you shouldn't use emoticons. The same things can be said with abbreviations. I also make it a point to limit my use of abbreviations as there are literally 1000s of abbreviations that are in common use and no single person knows them all. It is common courtesy to not use them as the only purpose they serve is laziness. If we end up turning the internet language into something that becomes pure abreviations then we will have created a language more complex and difficult to master than Mandarin. In my opinion that would be a bad thing.

[Pirotess]

Whether you intend to or not, the way you come across in text is quite cutting and oftentimes borderline rude Arctic_Slicer. Without the use of emoticons to soften your tone I can definitely see you getting into a tangle or two with other forum posters in the future. Often times even I have to conciously tell myself not to be offended and go on attack after reading a post of yours. Personally, I'll get used to it eventually but just keep it in mind if it does happen with others to go gently into the argument.

As for your position on emoticons, you're of course welcome to it but we will of course continue to offer emoticons here at Vanguard Spheres to assist people in their conversations. Personally I find your position on them curious as Im quite certain you use body language while talking in real life with your acquaintances. I find emoticons to be the virtual representation of that body language which allows people to express themselves here in the virtual world of the internet. As for abbreviations, I use some of them and avoid others. Typically I'll only use abbreviations when time is of the essence and I cant afford to spend time typing everything out. Usually thats only while Im issuing raid orders as I try to not post on forums in haste. I've found that when I do, invariably people misinterpret my meaning and things get ugly.

[Arctic_Slicer]

Having them available or not isn't the point I was trying to make. I was simply saying that they are not needed. If you read a book it's not filled with all kinds of weird smiles; it is pure text and if it was written half decently people understand it and know what the writer meant to say. There are far too many people who have quite literally let smiles and abbreviations ruin the language for them and have forgotten how to write without them. While they aren't an innately bad idea the way they ended up being overused and used in place of actual text in many cases have turned them into a bad thing. Too many people are using them as an excuse to rape the language. That's really all they have become. We are now in a time where people who don't know English as their first language can now type better than the average person from the United States or Canada, which is really sad.