Why the smiley inconsistencies?

[JetBlack330i]

For advanced power posters, it's much easier to type the smiley code than to click on them smileys (they always get pasted in the wrong places).
Why don't we make them all consistent? Some examples

:rofl: is <:>rofl<:> (ignore the "<" and ">"; they are there to prevent them from being interpreted)
:) is <:>)
:bustingup is <:>bustingup

Why don't we make them all <:>something<:> ?

[Jon S.]

There is a limit on the number of characters in the name.

If we go back and re-name them now, all previous posts in
the archives will be messed up...

[JetBlack330i]

Yeah, I figured. 10 chars, right?
Oh, well... I don't have a good suggestion.
We just need to memorize the little idiosincrasies, such as this one
: popcorn: is <:> popcorn<:> notice the space before "p".