Internet Shorthand 6

[Dimandja]

Do you have any interesting examples of creative ways people use their keyboards to express themselves online?

Also, many popular expressions have been reduced to an alphabet soup that I find hard to digest. For instance "AFAIK" --- my stomach still turned even when I found out what it stands for. And, what in the world is "IMO"? :s

 

[MdnghtPgmr]

Dimandja,

"IMO" = In my opinion. I don't know the first one though. What is "AFAIK"?

Thanks,
MdnghtPgmr

 

[LaurelLee]

My stomach turns as well. I guess some are slow typists and feel the need to speed things up. (??) I think, although I may be wrong, that IMO stands for 'In My Opinion' as that is the only phrase that I can fathom would be common enough to shorten.

ROFLMAO---this one gets me every time I see it.

___________________________________________________________
With your thoughts you create the world--Shakyamuni Buddha

 

[LaurelLee]

AFAIK=As Far As I Know


Right??

___________________________________________________________
With your thoughts you create the world--Shakyamuni Buddha

 

[BakeMan]

ROFLMAO or ROTFLMAO = Rolling on the floor laughing my a-- off

BAKEMAN

 

[lespaul]

and let's not forget

BTW - By the Way

RTFM - Read the f'in manual

BRB - Be right back (mostly found in chat rooms)



Leslie

 

[rosieb]

I find a lot of acronyms totally confusing, I use this:

http://www.acronymfinder.com/

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[BakeMan]

I found this that might help

http://www.downhomer.com/Reference/Webspeak.asp

BAKEMAN

 

[CasperTFG]

Okay I really need to know what AFAIK means...

The web short hand is not really due to laziness.. It comes more from the chatrooms.

Have you ever tried to get a properly punctuated and gramatically correct scentence out in a chat room. By the time you are done typing it, they are off the subject and on to a new one.

That is at least where I learned all my internet shorthand.

Casper

There is room for all of gods creatures, "Right Beside the Mashed Potatoes".

 

[lespaul]

I think we covered AFAIK = As Far As I Know


Leslie

 

[LaurelLee]

TNSTAAFL--this one took me a long time to figure out.
There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. That really confused me for awhile. Ugh.

I guess I just haven't spent enough time in chat rooms to get the lingo down pat!

___________________________________________________________
With your thoughts you create the world--Shakyamuni Buddha

 

[CasperTFG]

I thought it would have been something worse by the comments made...

my stomach still turned even when I found out what it stands for

Casper

There is room for all of gods creatures, "Right Beside the Mashed Potatoes".

 

[rosieb]

LaurelLee
It's a quote from Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, I think.

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[sleipnir214]

rosieb:
You're right.

"TANSTAAFL" (with three As instead of two, standing for "There [blue]Ain't[/blue] No Such Thing As A Free Lunch") is from Robert Heinlein's classic The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. At the end of the book, the phrase became the motto of the Free Lunar Republic.



Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[RiverGuy]

I don't believe these acronyms should be avoided at all costs by all. It is a personal preference. I use "IMO" from time to time. But I would never use it in an essay. Really, it is similar to using "MS" for Microsoft. If one is writing casually to an audience aware of the meanings of these acronyms, then there is no problems.

For that matter, what is the difference between the examples above and "10-4" in radio speak? Sending casual emails or chatting with co-workers in really not that much different from using a radio.

 

[willir]

... And what do you say when you see yet another acronym in the land of bits and bytes???

ATA
Another three-letter acronym ;-)

(From the earlier computer days - I guess we ran out of three letter combinations since then...)

p.s. I have always loved Heinlein. Glad to see him quoted so many years later.

 

[CajunCenturion]

With many acronyms, you must now understand the context in which it's being used in order to decipher its meaning.

For example, besides being Another Three-letter Acronym, ATA is also
- Airline Transport Association
- American Tinnitus Association
- Alliance for Technology Access
- American Telemedicine Association
= American Trucking Association,

and probably several others.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[sha76]

Are we just focusing on these acronyms more because we see them written down so often?
As far as I know TTFN (tata for now) dates from the war era. Some have even evolved into words, such as posh (port-side out, starboard home). I have memories from primary school of using various acronyms which were either made up by us or passed down from older children (these were both written & spoken) & by the incomprehensible graffiti that's around, I'd say that's a tradition that's continued!

 

[Chance1234]

sha76, you beat us to it.

but also to add, isnt the whole point of a acronym is to save time ?

Ones i can think of which i use a lot outside the realms of the computer are

FYI (For Your information)
TBC (To be Confirmed)
ETA (Expected Time of Arrival)
NBA (No B********* Assesment)
CYA (Cover Your Arse)



Chance,

Filmmaker, gentleman and up for parole shortly

http://WWW.5YLAC.S5.COM

,

http://WWW.HOWTOBESPOOKY.CO.UK

 

[SF0751]

Alas, posh did not apparently evolve from Port Out, Starboard Home. See

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pos1.htm

for more details.

I wasn't aware that TTFN had been around for so long, I always associate the phrase with Tigger (from Winnie the Pooh)!

Susan
Gramen artificiosum odi.