Hacker News Reader

Comment by slmjkdbtl | Hacker News Reader

Something I found interesting in the emoji usages in China:

1. In Wechat "emoji" is a superset that also includes memes, where you can use any kind of image as an emoji also add other's emoji to your library (kinda like slack emoji, but bigger and more emphasized). The humor and expressiveness is immense, people use them for daily conversations instead of a quick reaction tool (well that too). Everyone's emoji lib is vastly different and it says a lot about you as a person, it's almost like a personal language.

2. The "Smile" emoji in Wechat actually means hostility [0] in younger generations ("it could mean that you just said something really dumb and the sender doesn’t want to speak to you"). Some older generations folks don't "get" it and still use them for good intent. It's always weird to see your parents send you that.

[0] https://www.scmp.com/abacus/tech/article/3029091/smiley-face...

View on HN

Re (2) you misread - it's the "waving hand" emoji which can mean a bad reaction to something dumb. The "plain smile" emoji is rarely used with friends, in favour of laughter-focused images, which I don't think is unique to Wechat.

> Re (2) you misread - it's the "waving hand" emoji which can mean a bad reaction to something dumb.

This is where things get complicated: How can I know you're right and they're wrong? Thats no different to indirect references to things and people: so "dear leader" is understood to refer to the DPRK but in fact, contextually can be used to refer to any upward manager.

The inherent ambiguity of meaning is a problem in all communication and across both words, and shapes, it's meaning is highly contextual, and I would suggest fluid: in 5 years time this specific wechat emoji/emoticon meaning will have shifted.

"fab" probably had about 4-5 years of real currency in the 1960s. Now, its use is mostly confined to the near geriatrics or ironically. (and, to kids who watch "thunderbirds" F.A.B. probably lacks context)

"Dear leader" is a really good example of how you can get yourself into awkward situations if you're not aware of certain historic precedents. Another example: in Germany, nobody would call their boss "mein Führer", although "Führer" is the literal translation of "leader"...

Perhaps not unique to Wechat, but still a cultural thing.

In Europe a plain smile is still just that, a plain smile. Reserving it for communication with your manager or boss, is not how it is used.

The LOL or ROFL emoji is to me out of place, as you don't roll on the floor laughing while sending text messages. Laughing out loud is ok from time to time.

Still, emojis are better when they have a global meaning, e.g. the simplest interpretation possible.

Yep, in the UK for example the crying laughing emoji has mixed meaning depending on context.

It still has the innocent “this is really funny” meaning but it’s also known as the “c*%t emoji”[1] after English comedian David Baddiel noticed that anti-Semitic trolls would always sign off their messages to him with it.

He was able to turn his experiences into a stage show called “Trolls, not the dolls”[2].

1. For those that don’t know, in this context “c#%^” is a nasty but non gender specific insult that might be used for anyone being particularly unpleasant.

2. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/feb/10/david-baddiel-...

A lot of things may have a different meaning depending on the context, not only words or text: even face expressions. You sometimes need to know the person to understand what they truly meant.

Indeed. I notice a big difference in meaning implied by eye rolling and the eye roll emoji for example. It’s definitely not a universal thing.

When talking to someone from a different culture it’s important to accept that.

Personally I find the suggestion to always assume the innocent meaning in communication to be the best policy for that reason.

I'd say the absolute majority of crying laughing emojis I've seen on Twitter are either used by trolls (usually to ridicule statements without having to actually engage with them directly) or as a seemingly meaningless filler or sign-off in extremely hostile replies. It effectively being used in the place of an insult would explain the latter use.

Not sure if it’s a majority or not without detailed sentiment analysis but it’s definitely a thing.

How best to put this… A lot of trolls aren’t that bright.

They use the cry-laughing emoji as a sign off, as if it settles things. i.e. like it’s hilarious that anyone could think differently to them.

They’re not looking for a conversation or to be swayed in anyway.

In such cases it’s never worth arguing with them. They drag you down to their level and beat you up with experience. :)

By "c#%^", you mean "cunt", right?

Yeah of course but as I know in some places people really don’t like that word I decided to self-sensor on this occasion.

In that superset of emoji, is that about the same as stickers on several other chat platforms?

It’s literally that – they’re called stickers if you set the interface language to English.

Regarding #1, SameTime (the instant chat part of Lotus Notes) allowed you to add any still image or gif as an emoji. Definitely something I missed when we moved to a different platform.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com