I actually find emoji fascinating from a linguistic point of view. They originated from Asian social media (the name is Japanese e + moji, picture + letter). So, Japanese uses kanji (character representations of words/things) in their language, so for them having a laughing face at the end of a message isn't too…

Not all the time, people can be pretty bad with conveying meaning via words or sometimes they might read into something you say way too much ("I can't believe you did that!" could be taken as praise or scorn, for example). Plus sometimes it's weird to say something like "Oh I am so shocked!" because it sounds somewhat…

Because text on a screen lacks many cues that we use in spoken language (inflection, stress, tone, etc, not to mention visual cues like facial expression and body language) and so people try to make up for it by using emoticons and emoji?

I have a couple friends that now live with boyfriends/girlfriends they met through MMOs. I think it's become more commonplace.

I think my original comment was too vague, sorry. I meant, since servers in these states do make minimum wage, is a bad tip less destructive to them than in states where they don't, and therefore more acceptable (still shitty, but less in the "they won't make their bills because of you" way)? Or maybe cost of living…

Is it different for states that keep minimum wage across the board? Servers here make $8/hr to start for example. I always tip, and usually at least 18~20%, but it's something I'm curious about.

Some languages (like French) put a space between the last word and exclamation points, and sometimes people who commonly write in those languages carry it over when writing English. That's my guess, at least.

9/10 introduced the idea of bonus EXP. By clearing maps in timely matters and meeting optional mission goals, you would be rewarded with bonus exp that you could distribute as you saw fit between maps. I'm not sure if it returns in this one though.

I don't know that they're considered ugly. They all get clothing and makeup endorsements the same as pretty much any other idol group, and if people thought they were ugly I doubt they would? Their image is just to do their makeup weird and wear weird clothes.

Because they wear dumb clothes and so they are perceived as edgey/different by fans. Kinda like the Spice Girls.

I love how you get like four replies instantly about how terrible your sister is for her choice.

I get this too with "Lisa". People are just so sure that it's short for Elizabeth. Or they spell it Leeza, Liza, Leesa. etc. Or when in Japan, I get "No, what's your REAL name?" because they think I picked Risa as a Japanese name while I'm there.

One thing I have learned from fandoms for bands/groups is that if the group breaks up or goes through any problems, it is NEVER seen as the group's fault, only "outsiders". Outsiders include girlfriends/boyfriends, new additions to the group, and managers. Also it is never the fans' fault for being absolutely crazy…

Probably a lot. Pure anecdote but when I was little, a cousin (also a girl) and I really wanted to play football, but both sets of parents and our entire extended family were adamantly against it, and we both got stuck in ballet instead.

She said in an English interview that she was unlikely to work with Square/Disney again though, something about Disney "not wanting to pay". Granted it was in 2009 and she could have changed her mind by now.

I guess a lot of it is confused by the changing perception of what a troll is. The guy in this story, I honestly would have called him a harasser or asshole before a troll, so it might as well be asked "why do people harass others?" which I don't quite get either.

I don't know, I find it hard to believe that every single adult person on the planet likes the taste of alcohol unanimously. Maybe there are just some people who legitimately don't like how it tastes.

My friends aren't really "sloppy drunks", it just affects them in a negative way. I am in college, yes, and I have always found it to taste bad and I doubt it'll change, though I do suppose if I forced myself to drink it repeatedly because of expectations to drink at social events I'd get use to it.

I don't drink because I don't like the taste of alcohol, simple as that. And several of my friends turn into crying masses of sadness after drinking, so they don't drink because they want to have a good time, not feel depressed and kill the mood.

Basically, StarCraft (SC) is a popular multiplayer game, that has a /huge/ global playerbase. Since the nature of the game is PVP (Player Vs Player), a tournament scene has sprung up around it, and players who win a lot get famous within the SC tourny scene. There also a decent amount of cash to be made/won for high…