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Where did emoticons originate?Graphical depictions using only text char-acters, known as ASCII art, have beenaround for many years. However, the useof the portmanteau emoticons (emotion +icons) was popularised by Scott Fahlman,a researcher at Carnegie Mellon Universi-ty, who posted a message on a bulletin boardon September 19, 1982. Fahlman pro-posed the use of :-) to signify thata person was joking in theirmessage, or :-( to convey theirseriousness. While the meaningof these emoticons had changedslightly since (now denotinghappiness and sadness respec-tively), they have become almostuniversally understood, and anentire vocabulary of emoticonsnow exists for users to communi-cate with.

The development of graphical userinterfaces (GUIs), which allow the display

of images, later led to image-based depictionsof faces conveying similar emotions to emoti-cons. These emojis can be seen as ‘reac-tions’ – a range of options provided toFacebook users to communicate an opin-ion of another user’s post.

Do emojis improve our communications?

The question of whetheremoticons help users tocommunicate better or hinder self-expression is hotly debated andhas been the subject of a num-ber of studies. On the one hand,symbols with a universally un-

derstood meaning can help us toconvey a sentiment without hav-

ing to phrase it in a convolutedsentence. PROS: They also helpto reduce the ambiguity of amessage’s meaning among dif-

ferent parties, who usually un-derstand emoticons to have iden-tical meanings. A study of stu-

dents at a secondaryschool and their use ofemoticons suggested that

they can help reinforce amessage’s meaning. CONS: There are, however,drawbacks to conveyingemotions using emoticons.A limited choice of emoti-cons restricts the range of

emotions that we can express, and does not al-low for the subtle nuances or strengths of emo-tion that we experience.

Both emoticons and emotions also reducethe need to develop the written skills needed toexpress oneself in the absence of such short-hand forms of communication.

Which side are you on? Take This Debate Onlineat www.toistudent.com

What are email threats?Any threat that makes its way throughemails is known as email threat. Emailis one of the most essential ways of com-munication these days. As we havelearnt, logging on to the internet pavesthe way for a gamut of threats. And so,email has become one of the mostcommon ways hackers have used toget into a network. It has also provedto be the easiest way to attack hugeorganisations.

How does it work?The amount of emails most of us receivein a day is limited. But a person who has

subscribed to several websites or chan-nels receives at least 10-15 mails a day. Whatif these mails are corrupted with a mal-ware or virus?

Emails are usually sent over unveri-fied, open and public networks. Whichmeans there is less or no security at all.When emails are sent this way, it is like apostcard that can be read, copied and mod-ified along its path. Even with a lot ofsecurity and sophisticated filters, hack-ers can find ways to send mails thatpose a threat to individuals and or-ganisations.

What is the threat?A lot of things can go wrong through

emails. Most of the criminals want per-sonal and organisational data. They maysend key-loggers or virus that getlaunched into your system when youopen the email. This could give awayyour passwords, photos and othersensitive information.

In an organisation, a criminalcould just send spam emails to every-one and cause congestion in the net-work so as to bring down work speedand borrow time to steal information.An email can be drafted to suit thecriminal’s needs and sent from yourmail to people from your contacts with-out your knowledge. It could be any-thing from just a threat to de-manding a ransom.

How can you stay safe?These threats are invariably inevitableand one cannot be fully equipped to wardthem off. It is necessary for everyone toidentify mails with threat, even when theyare from a known source. Keep an eye on any mail that screamsspam; never open it. Install an antivirus software that willdetect any malware or virus in your email.Never click on a hyperlink in an emailthat you think is not legitimate. Look for grammatical errors in theemail, as this will help you distinguisha spam mail from the rest. But beware,hackers are becoming sophisticatedthese days!

In attaining our ideals,our meansshould be as pure as the end!

Dr Rajendra Prasad

The rise of the internet gave us a new method ofcommunication, one we now recognise asemoticons. Text-based representations offeelings, such as :) to express satisfaction, helpto make email and instant messaging morepersonal, communicating graphically whatpeople often struggle to convey with words alone

Taking action tomake tools of com-munication, likeemojis, more inclu-sive and diverse iswelcome. So we’reglad to see theinclusion of moregender-neutralemojis and a transflag emoji— Jeff Ingold, LGBT

campaigner

EMOJIS 2020REPRESENT GENDERROLES, MINORITIES

A man with a moustache in abridal veil and a transgenderflag are among more than100 new inclusive emojis.

This disguised face was addedto Emoji 13.0 in 2020.

The icons acknowledgeclimate change with apolar bear, seal anddodo. This emoji is asequence to Bear Faceand Snowflake.

Food trends such as fon-due, flatbread and olivesare represented in thisnew list of emojis for2020.

Regulator the UnicodeConsortium has given thethumbs up to 117 newemojis to be added tosmartphones this year.

The list includes ananatomical heart and lungs,a gender-neutral Santa,woman in a tuxedo, peoplehugging, a teapot and aheadstone.

Gender-neutral emojis,such as a person feed-ing a baby and a gaybride, in several skintones, is also a wel-come inclusion.

An emoji is the bestway to say somethingwhen you don’t havewords for it. I believe itmakes communicationall that better.

— Sonakshi Sinha, actor

With times, even theemojis have changed torepresent a changingsociety. This is a wel-come introduction andshould be hailed.

— Boman Irani, actor

WHAT DO THEYBELIEVE?

Emojis haven’t addedanything positive. Theold-school conversationwas better as therewasn’t scope of misun-derstanding.

— Ankit Tiwari, singer

It has made communi-cation easier and sim-pler but has it addedany value? I don’tthink. It’s fine just as a joke.

— Shaan, singer

I have found that emo-jis can replace compli-cated text. You caneasily say somethingwithout the fear ofoffending someone.

— Ranvir Shorey

The leap day of February 29 existsfor purely astronomical

reasons, but hasalways prompted

scientificcuriosities

FACTSYOU DIDN’TKNOW ABOUTLEAP YEAR

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7The leap year’s extra dayis necessary because ofthe messiness of our SolarSystem. One Earth year (acomplete orbit around theSun) does not take anexact number of wholedays (one complete spin ofthe Earth on its axis). Infact, it takes 365.2422days, give or take.

Under Julius Caesar,February had 30 days, butwhen Caesar Augustus wasemperor he was peeved thathis month — August — hadonly 29 days, whereas Julyhad 31. He pinched a coupleof days for August to makeit the same as July. And itwas Feb that lost out.

The chance of being bornon a leap day is often saidto be one in 1,461. Fouryears is 1,460 days andadding one for the leapyear you have 1,461.

Until Julius Caesar came topower, people observed a355-day calendar – with anextra 22-day month everytwo years. But Caesarordered his astronomer,Sosigenes, to simplify mat-ters. Sosigenes opted forthe 365-day year with anextra day every four yearsto scoop up the extra hours.

Every fourth year isa leap year, as a rule of

thumb. But that’s not the end ofthe story. A year that is divisibleby 100, but not by 400, is not. So2000 was a leap year under theGregorian calendar, as was 1600.But 1700, 1800 and 1900 are notleap years. There’s a good reason

behind it. The year is 365 days anda quarter long – but not exactly. Ifit was exactly, then you could sayit was every four years. But it isslightly lesser.

Other calendars apartfrom the Gregorian requireleap years. The modernIranian calendar is a solarcalendar with eight leapdays inserted into a 33-year cycle. The IndianNational Calendar and theRevised Bangla Calendar ofBangladesh arrange theirleap years so that the leapday is always close to 29.

Explorer ChristopherColumbus used the lunareclipse of February 29, 1504to his advantage during hisfinal trip to the West Indies.After several months ofbeing stranded on the islandof Jamaica, relations withthe indigenous populationbroke down and theyrefused to continue helping.Columbus gathered thenative chiefs on Feb 29 andtold that God was topunish them if theydidn’t help. The chiefsagreed to help immediately.

FACT CHECK

LEAP YEARS IN HISTORY: During leap years,George Armstrong Custer fought the Battle ofthe Little Bighorn (1876), the Titanic sank(1912), Benjamin Franklin proved that lightningis electricity (1752) and and gold was discov-ered in California (1848).

LEAP YEAR CAPITAL: The twin cities ofAnthony, Texas, andAnthony, New Mexico,are the self-proclaimedLeap Year Capital of theWorld. They hold a four-day leap year festivaleach leap year thatincludes a huge birthday partyfor all leap year babies.

FAMOUS LEAPERS: If you wereborn on leap day, you share a birthday with composerGioacchino Rossini, motivational speakerTony Robbins, jazz musi-cian Jimmy Dorsey,actors Dennis Farina andAntonio Sabato Jr., andrapper/actor Ja Rule.

LEAP YEAR TRADITIONS: It’s acceptable for awoman to propose to a man on Feb 29. Thecustom has been attributed to St Bridget, whois said to have complained to St Patrick aboutwomen having to wait for men to proposemarriage.

LEAP MONTHS IN OTHER COUNTRIES: Awhole leap month is added to the Chinese cal-endar every three years. The leap month'splace in the Chinese calendar varies from yearto year, and 2015 was a leap year in theChinese calendar. A leap year in the Ethiopiancalendar occurs when an extra day is added tothe last month of the year every four years.

AND A LEAP YEAR MOVIE: Amy Adams andMatthew Goode starred in the 2010 romcom‘Leap Year.’ It's about a woman who travelsto to Ireland to ask her boyfriend to accepther wedding proposal on leap day, when tra-dition says that men cannot refuse awoman’s marriage proposal.

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOUR EMAILS COULD BE HACKED TOO?

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