How Do You FEEL About Emoticons?

I've been wanting to post about this for a long time, but finally got motivated by one of Lisa Galek's new year's resolutions at her blog Read, Write, Repeat.  By her own assessment, she's gone over the edge and has resolved to curb her emoticon abuse in the new year.  We discussed it further and agree that emoticons in moderation aren't bad, but we worry that we've become too dependent on them. Hey, why does it sound like I'm talking about an addiction?  Oh, maybe I am... 

Hi.  My name is Nicki Elson and I'm an emotiaholic.  Which is extremely ironic because I used to be an emoti-snob.  I refused to use them.  I said, "I'm a writer. I shall use only words to express my meaning."  But then, as I became more active in the world of on-line writing, my e-communications through reviews, responses to reviews, private messages, e-mails, etc. increased, and I found a quick-fix to let the person on the other end know I was just joking was to tack on a :) or more often ;) and before I knew it, I was leaving ;Ps all over the place!  :O!

So, yeah, I think I became a bit too reliant and have tried to pull back.  It's a good exercise for any writer to express themselves fully in words.  But I'm not going cold turkey.  For one thing, the time savings from using an occasional emoticon in e-communications leaves more time for serious writing. Also, they're fun!  And for friends I may never meet in person, it adds a little "face time" to our relationship---social emotiing, if you will.  

Even though I'm comfortable with my current emoti-use, a new concern has crept up since I've entered the blog world.  Most people I correspond with here are writers, so I wonder---do I detract from my writerliness by using emoticons regularly in my comments, and occasionally in my posts? Does it make you think less of me (or anyone else who does it) as a writer?  Or do you like the emotis and feel it adds to the sociability here?

Ponder this and other autherly questions and insights at the Meet an Author Monday blog hop hosted by CaliCheerMom.  Don't forget, in two weeks---on January 31---everyone joining the hop will post on:

 Where You Write 

We want to see pictures of where you write and hear why you like to write there!