What should be done with the emoticon/emoji comparison question?

Question

So this regards the question What is the Difference Between Emoji and Emoticon?

This question was closed as gen. ref., because it lacked research. I do not necessarily feel as this was appropriate at the time, because there was no resource which directly answered the question, and it took months for this question to be closed with no real general reference being used.

Reopening it today may seem unreasonable. Research efforts made today would lead to an answer from some fairly authoritative resources too, so this is typically the sort of question I would insist should remain closed as a general reference question. However here I am, suggesting that perhaps it should be reopened anyway.

Why is that? Emoji is a word with a Japanese etymology, and that makes it something of special interest to me because I am a member of the western Anime subculture, and we often use japanese derived words to refer to distinctly japanese things. I have also used instant messaging services such as the defunct Microsoft Network and have a forum membership at a couple of internet forums. Based upon my direct experience, I have an opinion that is somewhat contrary to the conventional wisdom regarding the subject, and I would very much like the opportunity to eventually express that opinion. I did not do so the first time, simply because of the transience of internet resources I had in mind for using to answer the question at the time, although I have since discovered some archival tools which make me more comfortable with using them.

It also seems to me that since the question has been asked, that the question regarding what the difference between an emoji and an emoticon is has become quite a prolific subject to cover, so it may still be of some interest for other members of the community. Terdon seems somewhat interested at least, despite my express presumption that it will never be so. He does not feel strongly enough about it to do me the favor of a direct endorsement here though, so I have to do my own dirty work. XP

Also, the general references seem to be in a distinct disagreement with the one answer provided. The answer provides for some overlap between emoticons and emoji, whereas most general reference resources argue, for some reason, that emoticons are textual, whereas emoji are pictorial. With 10 votes, an accepted answer, and a gen. ref. closure, it almost seems as if we endorse the given answer wholeheartedly, which may make us seem a little silly if there are not other answers for the sake of peer review.

There are a few approaches we could take to this. We could consider the matter settled and leave it closed permanently, we could reopen it, or maybe we could even ask a new question with the intent of making a new canonical question in a better mold and wipe the slate clean. What does the community think?

I shall probably wait to cast my own vote on the matter until after reading some other opinions.

Answer 1

Reopened. Never stand in the way of useful answers.

When a question is so interesting and useful that someone has an expert answer ready, keeping the question closed to prevent that answer from being posted interferes with the purpose of the site, which is to collect expert answers. It becomes an abuse of bureaucratic power.

This has been articulated many times on the network. See for example Shog9's article here on our Meta site, "Single word requests, crosswords, and the fight against mediocrity", where he says,

"You're not a machine. ... there can be questions that fail [strict guidelines] and yet are still worth keeping around. Use your best judgment."

That entire article is well worth reading.

Answer 2

or maybe we could even ask a new question with the intent of making a new canonical question in a better mold and wipe the slate clean

Always do this.

Questions are meant to indicate a specific person's inquiry. Only they can tell us what research they did prior to coming here, only they can explain why the dictionaries they checked (or didn't check as is far too common) don't adequately give them an answer. Only they can tell us why they are still confused despite clear answers existing elsewhere. Maybe they found two dictionaries that have contrary definitions. Maybe they found that all the dictionaries they checked have the same definition, but that several of their fluent English speaking friends swear that the words have different definitions.

Unless you're a mind reader you can't explain for the OP.

So instead the appropriate course of action is to write a new question, and show your own research, with your own explanation of why the matter remains unclear.