We haven't updated to the 4.0 series as some functionality will be lost without a whole lot of new functionality to gain in the process.

Yeah, the spammers don't bother me at all, it doesn't get my goat, as it is rarely a human anyway. There is a certain futility with arguing or insulting a computer program! lol

When we see a spammer with a hyperlink, if we're not positive, we delete the hyperlink and block the ability to create a future hyperlink to the profile.

If it is an obvious spammer, then their posts are deleted, even en-mass if needed, and their IP is blocked.

As to additional emoticons, we added a few that looked like they were created with the same style, but there are far more out there but with a different style, and we try to keep it uniform. The ones we added gave users the ability to convey an emotion as often times readers cannot tell.