How effective are smileys/emoticons?

I have seen lots of people with the habit of punctuating with an emoticon/smiley. I wonder if it is to tone the stronger statements at times or just the real expression. 

When and why do you use smileys/emoticons?

I just love smileys/emoticons. They are superb if you use it in the most appropriate place and can give life to your writings. But sometimes people place it in the inappropriate parts which actually kills its purpose and gives a wrong message to the entire forum. Smileys are a good way to express your emotions in an animated way which is quite effective.

I like animated smileys like crying, weeping and laughing ones. There is one that keeps on laughing all the time which is really a mood enhancer. This is really a very innovative concept.

I use it more often. It surely help to express more feeling regarding post. I think this is really good feature on forum or any writing site so that we can express our emotions more strongly. Plus it looks good in compare to just plain texts.  :heart:

It's just a way to express our thoughts in a more personal way, which makes it more clear to the other person what our feelings are at the moment. I use them all the time, obviously, more in a casual conversation with family and / or friends, or in social media sites, forums, etc.

I find that if I don't use emoticons, people think I am mad or bored. It's not the case at all. I just don't like using emoticons. It isn't needed to express my feelings. My words should be enough but I sometimes use them when the other person uses them a lot.

I believe emoticons are very effective, I'm a big fan of them. There are a lot of options, so you can express yourself when there aren't words to do it or you just want to be different, I use them very often.

I don't use emoticons often I really' don't find a need to use them. I guess its a way to express our feelings in a stronger sense when writing, like if you are having a real life conversation and people notice your face expressions. I use them depending on what I'm talking about, if it's something serious then I don't if it's something silly i will use it sometimes.

They are very effective. Although I don't use them very often, but whenever I get a message with the smileys or emoticons, I feel very happy.

Emoticons shows how you feel when you can't express it in terms of words. It's easier to understand something when using emoticons too, plus it's really fun to use.

A chat without emoticons would be boring, i hate when people don't use them. Usually gives a feeling that they are strict all the time.