They're an advancement in emotional communication on mobile devices.
I agree that there are contexts where emoji may be inappropriate (definitely Github, I'd disagree about HN, because I think this place needs to lighten up) but they do clearly have utility for a lot of people.
I agree that there are contexts where emoji may be inappropriate (definitely Github, I'd disagree about HN, because I think this place needs to lighten up) but they do clearly have utility for a lot of people.