As soon as the HN fun police see this they're going to kill it, though.

sadly :(. they have a hate-on for emoji for some reason.

as does some of HN. time to upgrade from the 80s, folks ;)

I think it's the same reason that excessive bold or ALL CAPS are not enjoyed by most: it's a distraction. Instead of focusing on the content of what is being written. I think icons, just like bold or CAPS, can be used in situations where it adds value (formatting pun intended) - but often times it's poorly used and distracting.