Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att-cb!att-ih!alberta!ncc!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!pasteur!agate!eris!mwm
From: mwm@eris (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Etymology of the :-) sign
Keywords: joking
Message-ID: <7484@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 8 Mar 88 06:13:50 GMT
References: <7512@boring.cwi.nl> <251@wsccs.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@agate.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: mwm@eris.UUCP (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer)
Organization: Missionaria Phonibalonica
Lines: 44

In article <251@wsccs.UUCP> terry@wsccs.UUCP (terry) writes:
<In article <7512@boring.cwi.nl>, jurjen@cwi.nl (Jurjen N.E. Bos) writes:
<> 
<> Hi there,
<> I see everybody in all different newsgroups use the :-) sign.
<> What I'm interested in:
<> - where does it come from?
<
<	BIX.  It is a "BIXie".

That's odd. I recall seeing flames on the ARPANet (yes, it was still
the ARPANet then) about "that idiotic smiley face in messages from
bangland" before Byte ever introduced BIX. Maybe BIX routes things
through Gallifrey?

<> - who invented it?
<
<	What's-her-name ... you know.  Actually, you sould ask wes@obie
<(see my mail path).  He knows.  He's a BIX user (BIX-iot?).  I will be a
<BIX user when it is free to me.

A quick check with the local network wizard (or net.god to those on
ABUSENet) gets "Somebody at St. Olaf, maybe. BIX? Hah!" Of course,
it's possible that the creator on USENet is now mostly seen on BIX.

<> - is it an imitation of some thing (I know people using <) to represent
<>      an eye).
<
<	It is a "grin" or "smiley", usually referring to 'wry humor'.  You
<will see one following puns, sometimes.

It's orginal use was to indicate that the preceeding/following was "a
joke - I'm only kidding - don't get mad!" It has since been used to
indicate "I'd be smiling if we were ftf & I said this."

I suspect the original was inspired by the ARPANetisms "=~" (flame on)
and "=-" (flame off) and similar from the period.

	<mike

--
Cats will be cats and cats will be cool			Mike Meyer
Cats can be callous and cats can be cruel		mwm@berkeley.edu
Cats will be cats, remember this words!			ucbvax!mwm
Cats will be cats and cats eat birds.			mwm@ucbjade.BITNET