Meta comment: What is with all the smiley faces in these comments? 6 in 24 comments. Either people here get weirdly giddy over Google or the userbase is now mostly in their teens.
A good portion of communication in most animals is done visually. These visual cues do not transfer very well to text (okay, they don't transfer at all). The emoticon can be used to help. For instance:
You're an idiot.
Does not mean the same thing as:
You're an idiot :)
This is why emoticons are an important part of comments. They make them flow more like a conversation.
