4 ms·

They are helpful because they are unclear. There are cases where a bit of ambiguity is useful or you don't know exactly what to say. Face to face this can be so

by kiney 2y ago

They are helpful because they are unclear. There are cases where a bit of ambiguity is useful or you don't know exactly what to say. Face to face this can be solved with expressions, gestures etc. But in text form it's more difficult and emojis can help a bit.

justsomehnguy 2y ago
> They are helpful because they are unclear. Except their usage is often too unclear for the recipient. If that praying emoji after a request means they are praying for me to fullfil it? Or they just namaste me? Or they need that request fulfilled because they highly depend on it? If someone tags my message with a clown emoji - does that message brought extreme joy to them or should I find them to talk face to face with them? Some emoji are helpful by adding the non-verbal context. Some aren't.
- JohnFen 2y ago
  > If someone tags my message with a clown emoji Hey, there's another one that my social circle has settled on a clear meaning for. If any of my friends use it, what they mean is that they are admitting being foolish about something.
- Apocryphon 2y ago
  I thought the praying emoji is a stand-in for thanking someone.
  - ksenzee 2y ago
    Usually, but it does also get used in its literal sense, as “I’m praying for you” or even just “good luck.”
  - JohnFen 2y ago
    That's an interpretation that would never have occurred to me. Perhaps there's a cultural difference here? I don't see people in real life use that gesture to mean "thanks", so the thought wouldn't have crossed my mind in emoji form. I'd take it as "I'm praying for you", which can be meant in both a positive and negative way.
    - Apocryphon 2y ago
      It's how I've used it even on work Slack, the internet tells me folded hands means thanks or please in Japanese culture so perhaps that's the origin.
  - justsomehnguy 2y ago
    That's exactly what I'm talking about. It's a clear import from the American culture here and while I can infer the meaning from the context, I doubt everyone would. Especially considering it's "Folded Hands" and not "Praying" and some sets have a... very strange picture for this emoji: https://emojipedia.org/google/android-5.0/folded-hands https://emojipedia.org/google/android-5.0/folded-hands PS holy shit, there is a WikiHow article on it's meaning and how to use it. While there is a lot of stuff on WH, the mere presense of that article adds to my position. https://www.wikihow.com/What-Does-the-Praying-Hands-Emoji-Mean https://www.wikihow.com/What-Does-the-Praying-Hands-Emoji-Me... https://www.wikihow.com/Category:Emoticons-and-Emojis https://www.wikihow.com/Category:Emoticons-and-Emojis

by kiney 2y ago

justsomehnguy 2y ago

> They are helpful because they are unclear. Except their usage is often too unclear for the recipient. If that praying emoji after a request means they are praying for me to fullfil it? Or they just namaste me? Or they need that request fulfilled because they highly depend on it? If someone tags my message with a clown emoji - does that message brought extreme joy to them or should I find them to talk face to face with them? Some emoji are helpful by adding the non-verbal context. Some aren't.

JohnFen 2y ago
> If someone tags my message with a clown emoji Hey, there's another one that my social circle has settled on a clear meaning for. If any of my friends use it, what they mean is that they are admitting being foolish about something.
Apocryphon 2y ago
I thought the praying emoji is a stand-in for thanking someone.
- ksenzee 2y ago
  Usually, but it does also get used in its literal sense, as “I’m praying for you” or even just “good luck.”
- JohnFen 2y ago
  That's an interpretation that would never have occurred to me. Perhaps there's a cultural difference here? I don't see people in real life use that gesture to mean "thanks", so the thought wouldn't have crossed my mind in emoji form. I'd take it as "I'm praying for you", which can be meant in both a positive and negative way.
  - Apocryphon 2y ago
    It's how I've used it even on work Slack, the internet tells me folded hands means thanks or please in Japanese culture so perhaps that's the origin.
- justsomehnguy 2y ago
  That's exactly what I'm talking about. It's a clear import from the American culture here and while I can infer the meaning from the context, I doubt everyone would. Especially considering it's "Folded Hands" and not "Praying" and some sets have a... very strange picture for this emoji: https://emojipedia.org/google/android-5.0/folded-hands https://emojipedia.org/google/android-5.0/folded-hands PS holy shit, there is a WikiHow article on it's meaning and how to use it. While there is a lot of stuff on WH, the mere presense of that article adds to my position. https://www.wikihow.com/What-Does-the-Praying-Hands-Emoji-Mean https://www.wikihow.com/What-Does-the-Praying-Hands-Emoji-Me... https://www.wikihow.com/Category:Emoticons-and-Emojis https://www.wikihow.com/Category:Emoticons-and-Emojis