It’s a sideways heart, as in all the bumper stickers that say “I (picture of as heart, Valentine’s day style, not an organic pump) my Labrador Retriever” or whatever.

Took me 2 0r 3 of them before I cottoned on, too.

It can’t be “less-than 3″ because there’s no space between the characters, and I’m assuming this to be some kind of emoticon with which I am not familar (in other words, the set of all emoticons, excluding those 5 or 6 with which I _am_ familiar).

Looking starboard, I see a parachute, or maybe an ice cream cone (two scoops!) To port, who knows — perhaps a dunce cap (size xxxxxx-large; think Rick Moranis’ character in Space Balls–Big Helmet) worn by a topless woman?

Sorry,

Perhaps I should sign this one, ;#)

NSFW usually means “not safe for work.” Since many people consume their media at work, say during lunch or when they are slacking off, that label can be extremely useful, especially with regards to imagery.

Me, I’ve got headphones and consume podcasts pretty much all day while doing data entry, so NSFW isn’t important to me on an audio file, but it is really nice on a video file or even on a blog that tends to use swear words or writes about “mature content” (whatever that means).

I have not seen a usage meaning “Not safe for women.” However, the state in which I live used to have a law on the books that made using “indecent, immoral, obscene, vulgar or insulting language in the presence or hearing of any woman or child” a misdemeanor.

When I say used to, I don’t mean 100 years ago, I mean less than 10 years ago. I loved this case because it meant that anytime a woman swore it meant she was de facto breaking the law. As a woman who has been known to let fly a string of curses on occasion, I found this highly amusing.

Law has been overturned by the courts, but the provision for kids still stands. Joy.