Quick question, quick answer, no big deal.

[sun]

Original message)( What does a colon next to a left bracket mean? I really don't know..thanks for a responce, after a while,
there should be someone who knows) and I can find out, then you can remove this thread,make room for something else.. Stu ) Evidently, when someone puts in a colon, and next to it is a left side of a bracket it comes out :) I did not know...

[Artimus Gigan]

It's a smiely emoticon, it gives the guise that your responce is in a friendly manner


even though you could be a serial killer who skins his victims alive

[Stewie]

I think this is what you're asking about.
It's a smilie face. Smilies allow us to comunicate a little more as though we are talking in person. As most of them are used now, the meanings kind of blend together. They're basically all used as some form of happy smile.

It helps express the tone of a particular message. It's difficult to display emotion through text.