Ask Searches Emoticons, Acronyms, Non-Alphanumeric Terms

How do you search for the meaning of LOL which your SMS shorthand lingo expert friend sent you? Or figure out what :-/ means…

One option is you search for smiley or emoticon lists and find what your smiley means. For looking up internet abbreviations and acronyms, again you need to find these lists and scan the list to find what it means.

Ask has introduced an amazing feature which makes searching non-alphanumeric characters a quick task. Ask is offering a growing list of emoticons (aka smileys) that can be found by simply typing the smiley into the search box. Look for the definition in a Smart Answer box at the top of web results page.

I am sure you know what /. means (If not, then probably you have never been slashdotted). When you are extremely happy, probably your ROTFL. Did you girlfriend send you a :-*