;)

While I loath the little beasts, emoticons seem necessary at times to diffuse an otherwise misinterpreted email.

No, I didn't say I "hated" you.

I said I "hated you ;)"

They change something that could be misconstrued as sarcastic and hateful into something that's funny and delightful, even though it's subsequently intended to mock you.

But there's still something about them that makes me hate them. Perhaps it's when they're used too often. There's an essence of fakeness associated with them.

I mean, they help me understand your mood when I can't see you. So, to that extent, they're somewhat useful. But when they're used in excess, I get the feeling you aren't sincere, or that you're an excessively happy person which is equally annoying.

Perhaps, in that regard, they're something like exclamation points. And it's hard to be sincere with exclamation points.

Thanks!

Dana