March 26, 2008
Uncommon Typography
Somehow this morning I ended up looking at a page on Wikipedia that has a sidebar list of Typographical symbols, including "uncommon typography" which almost could be called "fantasy typography." My favorite among these is the irony mark.
I wonder why :) didn't make the cut. It deserves to be listed more than the interrobang. I wonder if there's a debate among wikipedia typography geeks about including :). Can a symbol make a crossover from emoticon to punctuation mark? I'd say it already has.
Boy, it's quiet around here! The smiley isn't a punctuation mark. I think I was totally wrong about that. The reason I even entertained the idea is that I have a boss who uses it as such in one specific situation.
Whenever she is asking us to do things that are borderline impossible, she ends her sentences with a smiley.
I'm not sure what the exact meaning she is conveying is. It's part exclamation mark, part "you can do it", part "don't kill me." But maybe something more...
Posted by: tracy at April 8, 2008 09:23 AMI am the only one who, when he gets warnocked, thinks everyone may have just transcended to a higher space?
Anyway, yeah, suggesting just one particular smiley composed of two punctuation marks should actually be called a punctuation mark seemed a stretch to me, and may have angered the cognoshanty gods.
The meaning of a smile in polite discourse merits a post all of its own... (I was just in Asia recently) ^_^
Posted by: Kai Carver at April 9, 2008 01:49 AMSince the post deserved to be ridiculed or smacked down, I think this was a warnock of politesse.
Posted by: tracy at April 9, 2008 10:57 AM