The history of the smiley face emoticon.

"On September 19, 1982, Carnegie Mellon University computer science research assistant professor Scott Fahlman posted a message to the university’s bulletin board software that would later come to shape how people communicate online. His proposal: use : - ) and : - ( as markers to distinguish jokes from serious comments."

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/in-1982-a-physics-joke-gone-wrong-sparked-the-invention-of-the-emoticon/

#Computers #Emoticons #Symbols #ComputerHistory #RetroComputing #Messaging