No, I don't agree: people on this thread are quite normal. There is maybe a tendency to overuse emoticons, but this fashion is general, not just on this web-site. The reason is that we have all been misunderstood in e-mails, perhaps by saying something homorously and finding that it is taken seriously. It's hard to communicate, other than very formally, with others who are not present. Misunderstandings are a waste of time and frustrating. So emoticons now tend to be used rather a lot. They charactature the situation, make it a melodrama, but they can help avoid misunderstandings.
As to the underlying realities of this thread -- well, you need to have met the protagonist, Pawl Couzens / Shanley, to understand why some contributors get very annoyed. Shanley is like Inspector Clouseau. If that doesn't mean anything to you, check out a French film with Peter Sellers called The Pink Panther.