[Shawnee123]

I need smilies because my sarcasm throws people off.

I think they're fun, though I see the reason for not using them, language-wise. It's like a teacher who once said good writing negates the need for exclamation points. Formal writing, sure, but I am so animated when I speak that sometimes I feel it doesn't come across here in casual writing land if I don't spiff it up a bit. Someday if any of you actually talk to me IRL you will know exactly what I mean.

Avatars can be too much, imo. At other boards (GAME sites, I'm not cheating on the Cellar, I swear) they take up so much space and are distracting. Some of them flash and jump and you can't escape them; I was afraid I might go into a seizure.