I've understood a subset of those, but apparently I've totally misunderstood this bit: > The emphasis on the eyes in this style is reflected in the common usag

I've understood a subset of those, but apparently I've totally misunderstood this bit: > The emphasis on the eyes in this style is reflected in the common usage of emoticons that use only the eyes, e.g. ^^ I always interpreted "^^" as equivalent to "this" or "ditto" -- arrows pointing at the immediately prior message. In hindsight, it could just as easily have been happy eyes!