On first blush, you'd guess that dudes don't like emoticons because they're too cute. And that makes sense. Think about the fellows you know who use emoticons. Do they like Disney, animation and ...

You know, in 100 years will people be like, in the early 2000s, when people started using emoticons, that's what we saw the beginnings of this new thing that totally changed communication. We'll see.

I once attended an e-mail etiquette roundtable in which the moderator made this blanket statement: "Never, ever use emoticons in business e-mail." Big, bold words. And they're completely wrong.

The shrug emoticon, affectionately known as “shruggie” and occasionally “smugshrug,” is a well-loved piece of ASCII art; meaning everything from “I don't know” to a happy-go-lucky ...