Being an active member and just logging in does earn, it builds up over time, its not a lot, but it does earn.
Quote tags and such type of input that gets parsed does not count towards post size total. The post size credit is very small so it's not abused anyway. Steelviper (Mark) posts a lot with just smileys, other times words, has been for years. He's not milking B$
I will talk to one of my graphics designers about making such a smiley. Thanks for the idea!