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January 20, 2026 - @314.95 (what is this?)
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Dan Q
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« on: January 08, 2026 @530.97 »

I was digging through a 1997 archive folder in which I'd saved some webpages I'd liked at the time. There, I discovered one that showcased a plethora of emoticons ("smileys"). I figured some of your might dig it (I found a copy of the full page via the Wayback Machine, too).

In an era before emojis and on platforms on which images weren't possible (so no "reaction GIFs"), emoticons were great tone indicators. But like anything, people wanted to find ways to express their individuality (I was quite partial to =o), personally!).

Here's the list from that page. Got any favourites? Anything you've seen used that's missing?


    :-|             ambivalent
    o:-)            angelic
    >:-(            angry
    |-I             asleep
    (::[]::)        band-aide
    :-{}            blowing a kiss
    \-o             bored
    :-c             bummed out
    :()             can't stop talking
    :*)             clowning
    :'              crying
    :'-)            crying with joy
    :'-(            crying sadly
    :-9             delicious, yummy
    :->             devilish
    ;->             devilish wink
    :~)             drunk
    :-6             exhausted, wiped out
    :(              frown  *see smile for other frowns using ( instead of )
    \~/             full glass
    \_/             glass empty
    ^5              high five
    ((((name))))    hug
    (()):**         hugs and kisses
    :-I             indifferent
    :-#             lips are sealed
    :~/             mixed up
    ****            popcorn
    &&&&            pretzels
    @}>-'-,--       rose
    :-@             screaming
    :-O             shocked, surprised
    :)              smile
    =)              smile
    =o)             smile
    =O)             smile
    :o)             smile
    :O)             smile
    :-P             sticking tongue out
    ^               thumbs up
    :-&             tongue tied
    :-\             undecided
    ;)              wink
    |-()            yawning

!-(    black eye                       :-(    un-smiley
#-)    partied all night               :-( )  You stepped on my toe
#:-o   "Oh, nooooooo!"                 :-(0)  yelling
$-)    won the lottery                 :-(=)  big teeth
%')    blotto                          :-)    smiley standard
%*@:-( hung over                       :-) 8  Dolly Parton
%*}    very drunk                      :-) :-) :-) loud guffaw
%+{    lost a fight                    :-))   double chin
%-(I)  laughing out loud               :-)))  very overweight
%-  drunk with laughter                :-)--  98-pound weakling
%-\    hungover                        :-)X   wearing a bowtie
%\v    Picasso                         :-)}   has goatee/beard
&.(..  crying                          :-,    "Hmmmm."
&:-)   curly hair                      :------------) big liar
'-)    wink                            :-/    skeptical
( o ) ( o )    hooters                 :-7    smokes a pipe
(-)    needs a haircut                 :-9    smiley licking it's lips
(-:    Australian                      :-:    mutant
(-::-) Siamese twins                   :-<    real sad smiley
(-_-)  secret smile                    :-=)   Adolph Hitler
(00)   mooning you                     :->    happy
(8-)   wears glasses                   :-?    smiley smoking a pipe
(:)-)  likes to scuba dive             :-@    extremely angry
(:+)   big nose                        :-C    really bummed out
(:-#   smiley with braces              :-D    laughing (at you!)
(:-$   ill                             :-E    bucktoothed vampire
(:-&   angry                           :-I    thinking
(:-(   frowning                        :-O    Wow!
(:-)   surprised                       :-P    sticking out tongue
(:-*   kissing                         :-W    speak with forked tongue
(:-D   blabber mouth                   :-X    A big wet kiss!
(:-\   VERY sad                        :-\    Popeye
:-X    bow tie                         :-]    biting sarcasm
:-[    pouting                         :-`    spitting out chewingtobacco
(:<)   blabber mouth                   :-c    bummed out
(:>-<  thief: hands up!                :-e    disappointed smiley
(:^(   broken nose                     :-l    yet another smiley
(@ @)  You're kidding!                 :-o    surprise
  )    Cheshire cat                    :-s    after a BIZARRE comment
*!#*!^*&:-)  schizophrenic             :=)    has two noses
*:o)   Bozo the Clown                  :>     midget smiley
:-r    sticking tongue out             :>)    big nose
+-(:-) Religious leader                :?)    philosopher
:-{    mustache                        :@)    pig
:-{}   heavy lipstick                  :^)    broken nose
,-)    one eye ... and winking         ;-)    winking smiley
-:-)   has mohawk                      <:-(   dunce
:-}    drunk                           <:-)   dumb questions
-=#:-) wizard                          <<<<(:-)  hat salesman
->=:-)X  Zippy the Pinhead             =):-)  Uncle Sam
:/)    not funny                       =:-)   smiley punk-rocker
::-)   wears glasses                   =:-H   football player
0-)    Cyclops                         >:)    a little devil
:<     midget unsmiley                 >:*)   Bozo the Clown
0-)    scuba diver                     >:-(   mad, annoyed
0:-)   angel                           @:-)   wavy hair
3:*>   Rudolph the reindeer            B-)    Batman
3:-o   cow                             B:-)   sunglasses on head
3:[    mean pet smiley                 C:-)   large brain capacity
3:]    pet smiley                      E-:-)  ham radio operator
4:-)   George Washington               E-:-I  net.ham-radio
5:-)   Elvis Presley                   P-)    Colonel Klink
7:)    Ronald Reagan                   Q:-)   new graduate
7:-)   Fred Flintstone                 [:-)   wearing a walkman
7:^]   Ronald Reagan                   d:-)   baseball player
8 :-)  wizard                          {(:-)  wearing toupee
8(:-)  Mousketeer                      {:-)   hair parted in the middle
8)     frog                            :(     sad
8-#    death                           :)     midget smiley
8-)    sunglasses                      :*     kisses
8-)    wide-eyed                       :*)    drunk
8-*    just ate a hot pepper           :-#    punched in the mouth
8-o    Mr. Bill                        ]:->   The Devil
8:-)   glasses on forehead             :-$    uncertainty
8:]    gorilla                         :-%    smiley banker
8=:-)  Galloping Gourmet               :-&    tongue-tied
:###)  Jimmy Durante                   }:-(   bull headed
:$)    Donald Trump                    }:-)   wearing toupee in an updraft
:%)    an accountant                   :-[    particularly angry
:'-)   crying with happiness

o== or *== flame on!!!
-==    a doused candle (to end a flame)
 -(    always should wear safety glasses, especially in the laser
%-)    after staring at the terminal for 36 hours
':-)   accidentally shaved off one of his eyebrows this morning
-:-(   punk rocker (real punk rockers don't smile)
0-(    scuba diver with a broken mask
:-) ... :-( ... :-) ... :-( ... manic depressive
:-F    bucktoothed vampire with one tooth missing

 


Emoticon     Meaning
--------     -------
.-]          User has one eye
.-)          User has one eye
:-i          Semi-Smiley
:-]          Smiley blockhead
:-%          User has beard
:-o          User singing national anthem
:-t          User is cross
:-:          User is mutant
:-(          Drama
:-)          Comedy
:-           User is male
:-?          User is smoking a pipe
:-=)         Older user with mustache
:-\          Undecided user
:-p          User is sticking their tongue out (at you!)
:-)'         User tends to drool
:-'|         User has a cold
:-)8         User is well dressed
:-D          User talks too much
:-\          Popeye smiling face, for people who look like popeye
:-#          User's lips are sealed.
:-o          User is shocked
:-*          User just ate a sour pickle
:-)-{8       User is a big girl
:-s          User after a BIZARRE comment
:-o          User is surprised
:-{          User has a mustache
:-|          No expression face, 'that comment doesn't phase me'
-:-)         User sports a mohawk and admires Mr. T
:-%          User has beard.
:-&          User which is tongue-tied
:-9          User licking it's lips
:-(          Sad
:-`          User spitting out its chewing tobacco
:-*          User after eating something bitter
:->          Hey hey             
:-X          User is wearing a bow tie
:-6          User after eating something sour
:-0          User is an orator
:-7          User after a wry statement
:-#|         User with bushy mustache
:-@          User face screaming
:-%          User is a banker
:-}          User wears lipstick
:-)          Humor (or smiley)   
:-v          Talking head Smiley
:-c          Bummed out Smiley
:-x          "my lips are sealed" Smiley
:-@          User's beard has permanent wave *or* was drawn by Picasso
:-|          "have an ordinary day" Smiley
:-e          Disappointed Smiley
:-<          Real sad Smiley
:-I          Hmm                 
:-(          Boo hoo             
:-8(         Condescending stare
:-#          User's lips are sealed.
:-O          Uh oh               
:-Q          Smoker
::-)         User wears glasses
:<|          User attends an Ivy League school
:=)          User has two noses
:>           Midget Smiley
:>)          User has a big nose
:%)%         User has acne
:~)          User's face needs a nosejob, no explanation necessary
:n)          User with funny-looking right nose
:u)          User with funny-looking left nose
;-)          Winking Smiley
;-\          Popeye gets his lights punched out
'-)          User only has a left eye, which is closed
(-:          User is left-handed
(-)          User needing a haircut
(:-)         Smiley big-face
(:-(         unSmiley frowning
(:)-)        User likes to scuba dive
(:I          Egghead
):-(         UnSmiley big-face
)8-)         Scuba Smiley big-face
{:-)         Smiley with its hair parted in the middle
{(:-)        User is wearing toupee.
}(:-(        User, wearing toupee in wind.
+-(:-)       User is the pope
+:-)         Smiley priest
,-}          Wry and winking
*-(          Cyclops got poked in the eye
*:o)         User is a Bozo
*<|:-)       User is Santa Claus (Ho Ho Ho)
<:I          Dunce
<|-)=        User is chinese
=:-)         User is a hosehead
=:-#}        Smiley punk with a mustache....
=:-)         Smiley punk-rocker
>-           Female
>:-<         Mad
%-^          User is Picasso
%-)          User is cross-eyed
#-)          User partied all night
@-)          Person submitting is Cyclops
@:I          Turban
|-O          Birth
|-)          Hee hee             
|-D          Ho ho             
|-)          User is asleep (boredom)
|-P          Yuk
0-)          User wearing scuba mask
8-)          User wears glasses
8            Infinity
8-|          Suspense
8-#          Death
8:-)         Glasses on forehead
8:]          Normal smiling face except that User is a gorilla
B-)          Horn-rims
B-|          User is wearing cheap sunglasses
g-)          Smiley with ponce-nez glasses
o-)          User is a cyclops
P-)          User is getting fresh
[:-)         User is listening to Walkman radio
[:|]         User is a robot
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« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2026 @539.75 »

There's a satirical joke to be made for a few of them which haven't aged well, if you're applying 2025 politics to 1997 articles!

Some of the more complex ones are missing, like. (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ and ┬─┬ノ( º _ ºノ) for example, and no Kirbys...though to be fair, 1997 Kirby was not as popular as 2025 Kirby.
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« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2026 @545.94 »

There's a satirical joke to be made for a few of them which haven't aged well, if you're applying 2025 politics to 1997 articles!

Yeah, I was of half a mind to consider a content warning or censoring a few out, but I figured that people would understand that back in the 90s we weren't quite so well-versed in our tolerance and understanding as we ("we" being "people that I'd be willing to be friends with") are nowadays.

I cringe at the thought of the jokes that younger-me thought were fun-and-edgy thirty years ago. :ziped:
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« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2026 @606.56 »

content warning or censoring a few out
There's some good topics about this around the place, though I'm sure I commented on one ages ago but I cant find it!

Anyway my general take is; It really comes down to what your goal is; if your goal is to have a discussion about the ethics and issues of the past, then you need an accurate archive that's not tampered with. Whereas if your goal is to encourage people to use a retro thing, then you need to curate it into something a modern audience can enjoy.

What you've got here is good raw material and worth archiving, but does need some updating to be usable today. :###) Who is Jimmy Durante and why does he have this emoji about him??

the more complex ones are missing
I think that's called kaomoji! - it was popular on the japanese internet. Western and Japanese internet's were almost like totally separate cultures in the 90s, so I'd count it as a different thing, but that's getting picky :tongue:



ANYWAY this list is missing my personal favorite emoticons:

:^] - friendly nose man
:^} - friendly nose man with a trembling lip because he is shy
:^3 - friendly nose man feeling cheeky
:^O - friendly nose man observing a situation
:^: - friendly nose man having a moment of self reflection
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« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2026 @623.14 »

omg this is really cool to see!!! I  really love how comedic some of these get, like the cheshire cat one... XD also a big fan of  how personalized everything is! at the same time, it feels so weird to not see stuff like B) or :3.... I'm just so used to seeing those ones and variants of them!!! I've also definitely seen a lot of stuff along the lines of -_-, ^w^, ;n; etc that goes for a horizontal read. are those kind of emoticons connected to kaomojis, or are they also  English ones that just werent listed here because of timing? I noticed a varient on -_-, but  not much else....


also sometimes I wonder if Undertale had any effect on the  use of this emoticon -_-
it's always what I think of when I see it....
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« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2026 @827.59 »

It's so interesting that there are no horizontally-aligned emoticons here. Like Melon said, kaomoji were their own thing on the Japanese internet, but I imagine something like ^.^ wouldn't be hard to imagine when trying to represent smiling or laughing. I guess people were just really into having their smilies on their sides. I'm also surprised :3 isn't in there, although I may be biased as it's my favorite emoticon :3
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