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This is an example of why they are stupid: http://steamcommunity.com/app/70400/discussions/0/666826703378026814/
Basically, there's no good point to most Steam emoticons. They're just out-of-place decorative pieces that have little use in a text-based environment like the Steam community discussion boards.
The only one that I can think of that might be vaguely useful is the trading card emoticon (which everyone gets for free I think?), which can indicate you're interested in trading trading cards. Or just trading cards in general. Except generally when it comes up, you've already suggested that meaning in the text, or heck, in the thread title and opening post. So it's still pointless.
I can't think of a good place to use a medpack icon, or a butterfly knife icon, or a character face icon.
Comments
You're just jealous that you don't have as many as that guy does.