Why the D

I'm with you BlueBelle - I don't use them either. But I love 'smileys'

i thought D stood for 'Dear', perhaps I am more restrained than most

.....Hence the reason I don't use it LOL

It's just the established shorthand but it's not compulsory.

I only call my Dog Darling

Occasionally a text about DH makes it clear he's nothing of the sort! It also can be ironic.
Long before I discovered this excellent board I always thought of one GD as 'DLM' which was 'Dear Little Marigold' - not her actual name. She discovered early on exactly how to manipulate her adults!! Still love her to bits 10 years later, she's happy to discuss her strategies now which usually makes us laugh. It's a relief to have my 'unwarranted' suspicions confirmed!!

GP confuses me as sometimes I wonder why a General Practitioner would give odd advice or interfere!

Some of us have stoped never started using DD DH I just use D or H

I just wish we all used the correct words doesn't take much longer I still have to mentally translate them all the time boo to Alphabet Soup

On a bad day the D could stand for dratted or damned or dreadful or dastardly!