4 ms·

What is the harm?

• gumby 6y ago
  Well, when reading running text they are a distraction. They aren't parsed by the same part of your brain that parses text, and they require interpretation (and embody ambiguity). They are like the junk photo required by Medium for each post, only scattered through the text. I happily use emojis when sending texts, making FB posts and the like, but I wouldn't put one in a comment here even if HN supported them. I don't care about the "professional" aspect the OP mentioned, simply that they are cognitive junk that get in the way of reading a document. That said, I also agree with the comment by camdez parallel to yours: "If that's the biggest problem, things must be going pretty well."