Is having this code really a good idea? I think it’s the most common “false positive” you can get… Imagine someone posting a recipe with an alternative version for more ingredients… or anything else that contains a number in parentheses without the number being the only thing in there.
4 (or 8) whatevers results in “4 (or 8) whatevers”.
Besides that… is 8) really so popular? I rarely see it on Facebook or other forums…
I agree with you partially here. For some smilies, you definatly want to convert common marks for example and ( ;) and :) )- for others however, you need to consider the commonality of the combination. 8) ( 8) ) while somewhat common is (as you pointed out above) likely to occur in every day use - in these instances I’d err on the side of them NOT wanting a smiley.
This might be why some things require a nose, even if the actual smiley face doesn’t have one. 8-) is much less likely to come up in normal typing than 8)