Most of the people you see here going 'NO EMOTICONS EVAR' are brand-new and really really don't want to get banned. It's perfectly fine to use emoticons once in a while, especially if you've just written a criticism and you want to soften the blow. Overuse of them is frowned upon, of course, but the occasional :) or ;) in a post never got anyone banned, IIRC. It's the kawaiidesu crap-- the <3333 and the X DDDDD and the =^-^= -- that get you banned.