Am I :D or :( ... emoticons...why I can't type without them. ;)

It all began with simple ha! ha! ha!'s at the end of my sentences. Then I started writing lol. Later it was WTH-k. (I try not to swear even in text form, although I am not perfect). Now, I don't know how to type without them or worse...emoticons.

I just get nervous and question myself, will they know I'm kidding if I don't write LM@O or ;). A friend of mine who holds degrees in English and French Literature chastised me a while back after I sent her a sarcastic email with a "LOL" & :D at the end of the sentence. She commented that I had become "one of them." By "them" she meant the masses who do not know how to express themselves properly through punctuation and diction.

My main form of communication between clients is through email. I usually only speak with them when I am actually in negotiations, even then usually I type to clarify. However, I find that many of them use emoticons in business language. It makes me uncomfortable, however I feel as if I HAVE to return the LOL or ROFLM@O.

It must be indicative of the sarcastic nature of our society that we really can't just say what we mean. Our humor can be so biting and our punctuation so lackadaisical that we can not decipher what the other person means or is trying to say without them adding a :o) or a >:). I enjoy a good joke, but where does that leave our language if we can not properly punctuate. How will we understand one another? Is the English language doomed or am I just going to have to make up new ways of expressing myself. :-P.