While I do not (or try not to) assume that whoever I might be talking to understands the faces I make in internet conversation, I do tend to make these faces anyway, out of reflex, to express emotion. It has been brought to my attention that frankly, you have no idea what they mean. So, I hope to clear this up, on the off chance I use them in my posts. That, and because evidently, my writing amuses you, and you haven’t had any of my words for a while, so why not?

Faces:

Common: ^ ^
Other forms: ^_^, ^_____^, etc. Or ^^.
Meaning: What is this? Are you pointing up to something you previously said? What?
Actually, it’s an attempt to emulate the “happiness” expression used by pretty much every single anime character ever to happen. When anime characters are happy, they look like this. (Lol, Scandinavian folk songs.) We don’t have any keys that have a curved top, like she does, but the “^” key - also used to show the mathematical operation of exponentiation (Uh… that is, taking things to powers, like… squaring…) - does kind of look like it.
So, when we say “^ ^”, or “^_^”, it means exactly the same thing as your classic :) or =). I like ^ ^ better ’cause I’m a bit of an anime kid now. Not as much as some, but…
The longer the underscore section (^_____________________________________________*shot*), the greater the involved emotion.

Common: < < or > >
Other forms: >_>, >_____>, etc.
Meaning: This one has so many meanings it’s hard to say. Basically, the normal “> >” is ’shifty eyes’. Usually it means mischief. (I never meant what you’re thinking - that’s not what I meant at all!)
However, when you start throwing on underscores and length, the meaning turns to sarcasm. If I say something and throw on <_________________<, I will usually have just said something obviously naughty, and the long face means I’m just kidding. Or, sometimes it can be used as a sort of “Wink wink nudge nudge”, for the laughs involved in hidden naughty messages. Megabassfalzar, a pure-internet friend of mine, is like an artist with this face.
Example: Soooo. We should go out for dinner. >______>
Meaning: I wanna go out for dinner, but I’m pretty sure we can’t.

Common: xD
Meaning: I’m surprised people miss this one. It’s a guy who’s laughing so hard his eyes are squeezed shut. I gauge its amusement level to be somewhere between “lol” and “LOL”.

Common: -.-
Meaning: I’m tired of this sh-

Common: o o
Other Forms: O O, O o, o O - and all of them with underscores (o_o)
Meaning: The meaning depends on the case of the O’s used. If they’re both the same case (o o), it means surprise or shock (wide eyes). If it’s opposite case (o O) it’s an eyebrow raise.

Common: ._.
Meaning: Disappointment/sadness. It’s a guy looking down at the floor.

Common: . .
Meaning: This one can be hard to see, but it means disappointment - or disbelief. Sort of like looking at someone from over your glasses.

Internet speak

The Many Faces of Lol
In my experience,”lol” is less of a contraction and more of a word. It means, “That’s funny.” The more capitalized or emphasized the word, the more strongly it is felt. So if you say “LOL” I’m going to think you found whatever just happened extremely amusing. I say ‘lol’ rather commonly.
Now, there is a difference between the expression “lol” and “I lol’d.” Saying “I lol’d” means you found whatever just happened so amusing that you actually laughed out loud. For me, this is a bit rare, so saying I lol’d means something.

wtf
WTF!!
It’s a very automatic reaction to things that make absolutely no sense. I do not even consider its original meaning (which is “What the -” You get the idea). wtf, like lol, is now a word to me. And it’s used to express total bewilderment and confusion. So if I say this (I will try not tooooo) it’s just because I’m reeeaally lost. Usually, you say “wtf” in response to something sudden.

lulz
A corruption of lol. Yes, it is. Lulz is many things. The official meaning is something along the lines of sadism, but when I use it, and when a few more decent people use it, it means “That’s a little funny and rather awesome”. To do something for the lulz is to do it ’cause it seems awesome.

Epic.
Epic and lulz go hand in hand. Something that is epic = something that is awesome.

y helo thar (and other misuses of grammar)
Apparently, to people on the internet with exceptional grammar, typing something in mockery of those with bad grammar is funny. “y helo thar”.

Fail
Simply put, this means “That sucks.”

Addons

~
Use of this key has also become automatic. I throw it onto faces and sentences alike. It expresses a playful tone rather well.
Hee hee~.

”
This one is pretty much face exclusive. ‘ or ” is a sweatdrop, which can mean anxiety, embarrassment, confusion, or exhaustion.
Examples: ^ ^”, -.-”, > >”
Meaning: Stuck-on happy face/happy mask, annoyed and tired, and “Oops. I was wrong.”

~ ~
Using these guys twice means a blush. That’s all.
~^ ^~ (Modest face)