I've informally referred to this as "ASCIImoji", but TIL that its proper name is "Kaomoji": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaomoji
> The emphasis on the eyes in this style is reflected in the common usage of emoticons that use only the eyes, e.g. ^^
I always interpreted "^^" as equivalent to "this" or "ditto" -- arrows pointing at the immediately prior message. In hindsight, it could just as easily have been happy eyes!
That's... a good thing to be aware of as a heavy ^^ user myself! Thanks for sharing