I found a site that had some smilies that I really really liked, so I downloaded the images and added the smilies to my forum. I was a member of the site where I got the smilies from, so they knew by the next day that I had used their smilies. I don't see anything wrong from using smilies from their forums... Could they get me in trouble with some copyright stuff? They've just said that the smilies have not been released to the public, but that's not right because they're using them in their own forums.
There's a huge difference between being publicly viewable and being "released to the public." Them using the smilies on their own forum is private use (privately owned sites are not "public" areas just because the public can see them, anymore than a mall is a "public" place just because members of the public are allowed to go there - why they can restrict things that can't be restricted in public places). What you did would be like stealing someone's article just because they made it "public" by posting it online. If you don't have a license to use the material, it's copyright infringement. And if they haven't "released them to the public" then it sounds like you have no such license until they say the smilies are available for public use outside of their privately-owned community.
I would definitely not worry about something like that. Plus, by the time the creator of the forum you got them from sees the website, most likely you will have find smilies that you like more and change them
Don't listen to people like that last poster. whether or not your find something you like better later, and even if you later take them down, you can still get in legal hot water over the copyright infringement. Your liability doesn't cease to exist because you pulled them down (and the rightful owner can choose to take it to court without even issuing the cease & desist notice to you first).
Yes. Google for "public domain smiley" and see if you can find a similar - or maybe even better - set that you can use with no problems.