But is it more ":)" funny or "LOL" funny?

(Actually, I did get it and I give it a hearty "heh.")

I don’t do internet shorthand. I have never typed a smiley, and I’ve only typed that other thing once (that I can remember), and that only for the purpose of illustration.

Only a Norwegian (or possibly a Swede) can “heh” heartily. We are a discreetly hilarious people.

I would rather die than use LOL or most of those other all caps abbreviations the whippersnappers and other non-scandinavian types use.

I do use :). It beats typing "I'm not mad at you."

“I would rather die than use LOL . . .”

Ah, such fine Nordic backbone! The Quislings could have used such an inspiration.

I prefer <grin> to lol, but sometimes I am lazy. When we are still new to the casual text medium (the kind we use on blogs and forums, etc.), we write the same way we talk, that is, we write in a conversational tone. The problem many of us encounter early on, of course, is that when we talk we often use hyperbole, wit, and charm to press nuanced meanings into phrases that wouldn't be there without our having done so. Many of my early efforts at conversational writing ended in someone taking what I said in a way that was entirely different than intended.

The solution was to become a more careful writer. To think through what I meant to say, and to consider whether it was being said in a way that could be construed in another. This sort of approach takes discipline and time.

In a era where attention deficit is a plague, it becomes easier for cretans to simply include emotions in their text - smilies, and acronyms are the textual versions of body language, tone and color. I understand it, but it strikes me as sort of the dark side of the force - you know, effective, but so quick and easy, one feels there is more virtue in simply becoming a better communicator.

Yes, Daniel, you understand my complaint.

But did you get the joke vis-à-vis my post?

David, comparing this comment to my previous one, and others, (c.f. previous comment, et. al.), and shall thus [sic] surely have your answer.

Daniel, you are, inter alia, a man of esoteric knowledge and arcane humor.

These pro bono comments are for the good.

Speaking of palindromes: in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni

Oh to be a moth.

That got me to thinking. What better way to stretch the mind than composing palindromes in haiku? Come to my blog David, and try your hand.

If you read much history, you'll notice a correlation between genius and insanity.