code standards for smilies?

[Bert Bates]

I have a nagging suspicion that this might have been discussed a while back - but what the heck, it's MD.

If you're using smilies in an environment that, unlike JavaRanch, doesn't convert them (in other words a colon followed by a right paren doesn't turn into a yellow smiley face), how do you handle the situation when you want your smily inside a parenthetical clause?

Assume that "x)" is a smiley, what do you think of these?:

1 - What's the difference (wait for it x) ), between a duck?
2 - What's the difference (wait for it x)), between a duck?
3 - What's the difference [wait for it x)], between a duck?
4 - What's the difference (wait for it x), between a duck?
5 - What's the difference {wait for it x)}, between a duck?

Others?

(BTW, a well known wag recently commented "The baby Jesus cries when parens are unbalanced" )
[ February 22, 2008: Message edited by: Bert Bates ]

[Gabriel Claramunt]

I usually go for option 1, but always with a feeling that something is not quite right

[Bear Bibeault]

1

[Ulf Dittmer]

If the smiley actually contains a closing parenthesis -like :-) but unlike :-( - then I go for #4. Otherwise #1.

[David O'Meara]

You mean  ?

option 1 for me.

[fred rosenberger]

There is a guy in my office who writes his smiles left-handed. For example"

(-;

this would eliminate the confusion when it comes at the end of a parenthetical:

What's the difference (wait for it (x ), between a duck?

however, it always throws me for a loop when i see it wherever it is.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

I try to avoid that situation altogether, so I don't have a personal standard. I usually do either #1 or #3 when I need to.

[ankur rathi]

Option 2.

My logic is, why do we need extra space (or where it comes from) #1? Why to switch to angle bracket or curly braces #3 and #5? Where is closing parenthesis #4?

And why to think a simile is special. Let�s consider it text.

[Marc Peabody]

I used to do option 1 but now I prefer not to repeat characters (and do option 4 ;)

[Jaikiran Pai]

Option 1

[Jim Yingst]

I'm a frequent user of both smilies and parentheses, but I'd consider just dropping the smilie when they intersect. Otherwise I would most commonly use

6 - What's the difference (wait for it), x) between a duck?

To be fair I usually am in an environment that does convert smilies to a graphic when I do that. But I would still prefer to move the smilie away from whatever punctuation is confusing the issue.

[Michael Ernest]

option 7

What's the difference -- wait for it -- between a duck?

[Bert Bates]

I gotta say, in my book Michael scores with a big sideways leap