From what I understand, it probably looks like this:
If so, it is because if you put an "n" in parenthesis, Moodle interprets it as a "no" (just like the smiley functions). This was a bit of an annoyance for instances where you would need to say "a/an" with the n in (). Is this true? If so, I had to comment a line out in a file in version 1.8. It looks like 1.9+ has an option in the administration interface to do this under Admin > Apperance > Htmleditor > Emoticons
You can find that information below for 1.8 (use caution whenever editing source files, as it can break things if something is mistyped. Use notepad or another "plain text editor" of choice (I use PSPad, but there are tons of apps out there that do this).
File:
moodle\lib\weblib.phpLine:
1847 (This is approximate... your installation may vary)
Text to look for:
'( n )' => 'no',(Note: spaces were added between the n and parenthesis to avoid auto-filter content).
You should see an array (looks like a list) with all the different smiley types and a few miscellaneous ones. Add
// in front of the line you wish to remove, and it will comment that line out (rather than deleting it). Again, beware that if you do it incorrectly, you could break things (though you can "undo" it if you do). This will also have to be changed every time you upgrade. I don't believe there is a way to disallow just one filter (at this time anyway) from the web interface.
Hope this helps! I know it did for us!! Please let us know if you were successful.