> This was bugging me the other day (like I have nothing else to think about). I consider myself a bit of an English fanatic, but rules for smileys are not covered in textbooks, so I thought I'd ask here. When you type a sentence and end with a smiley, do you punctuate before the smiley, after the smiley, or not at all? For example:
>
> A) RinkWorks rules. :-)
> B) RinkWorks rules :-).
> C) RinkWorks rules :-)
>
> Putting it outside of the period seems to make it apply less directly to the sentence, whereas putting it inside looks dumb, like the guy has a wart on his chin.
>
> And what if you use an end mark other than a period? Such as:
>
> A) RinkWorks rules! :-)
> B) RinkWorks rules :-)!
>
> And what if the smiley is in a parenthesis? Would it be:
>
> A) (Rabbitlord is PINK AND FLUFFY ;-) )
> B) (Rabbitlord is PINK AND FLUFFY ;-))
> C) (Rabbitlord is PINK AND FLUFFY ;-)
>
> A and B both rather look like they have double chins. And the mouth of the smiley is technically a parentheses, so does that negate the need for a closing parentheses?

My answers are A, A, and B. For the third question, A is also acceptable. The smiley is an entity unto itself; it implies the tone of the preceeding sentence, and does not have to be included in the sentence. When in parentheses, the smiley is considered complete unto itself and a second closing parenthesis is still needed.

> La"Proper behavior on the internet is covered extensively by E-mily Post"Zorra

Don "I think too much about these things -- this wasn't really a spur-of-the-moment answer." Monkey