What Do These Notations Mean?

[alexonedeath]

I have seen, within many posts, sets of characters that vary by letter and number but share the same general configuration. An example follows...

:sm (38):

Can anyone tell me why they appear and what they mean?

 

[Meatpie]

Our forum was started in 2007 and since then we have changed our server and upgraded the software and database several times. This is not always a smooth and easy process.

Sometimes forums undergo total redisgn, in one such instance we lost all out old smilies database and installed new ones.

What's left of the old smiles in posts is sm (smiley) + number of smiley in our old database.

 

[alexonedeath]

THANKS, MEATPIE...I've learned something, and I appreciate your answering my question so promptly. sm) 69:
:]