They are used in e-mail messages and in chat, newsgroup and bulletin board postings. To view them, you've got to tilt your head to the left and look at them sideways.
Acronyms are abbreviations of common expressions.
Below are just some of the basics. Your basic smiley. This smiley is used to inflect a sarcastic or joking statement. User just made a really biting sarcastic remark. User just made a really devilish remark.