Slightly OT: Forum Acronyms

dmm · #1 October 17th, 2001, 09:29 PM

For newbies and ESL Users, here's a list of common forum acronyms, abbreviations, and slang:
newbie = if you don't know this, you are one!
lurker = one who reads but never Posts
ESL = English as a Second Language (often referred to by careless Americans as "foreigners"; sorry, we don't mean to be rude, it just comes naturally)
FYI = for your information
AFAIK = as far as I know
AFAIR = as far as I recall/remember
AIR = as I recall/remember
IMO = in my opinion
IMHO = in my humble/honest opinion
LOL = laughing out loud
LOLFOTFL = LOL, falling on the floor laughing
IIRC = if I recall correctly
RW = real world
Some impolite acronyms, which IMHO you shouldn't use, but will probably see:
LMAO = laughing my (rearend) off
WTF? = what the (nasty curse word)?
RTFM = read the (freakin') manual!

Emoticons: All you have to know is that if someone puts :-) or

or :-D or

or ;-) or

or

somewhere in their post, they are trying to make a joke. It might be a dumb joke, or in poor taste, but not everyone can be as funny as me.

These are all that come to mind in 5 minutes. Feel free to add any I've missed.

CaptSpoogy · #2 October 17th, 2001, 09:50 PM

I always wanted to know what IIRC meant...

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"Reality is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there."

Puke · #3 October 17th, 2001, 10:23 PM

in the days of the chat Boards, AFK, BBL, and BRB were about all you had to know. that and common trunkations of works such as thanx,cya or l8r.

as much as this new-age-internet jumbo offends my classical sensibilities, i must point out that as far as web-board lingo goes, you missed ROTFL and IANAL. there are probably even more. anyone here every play any of the massive multiplayer Online games, such as EQ, AC, UO, AO, etc? they have another whole language that is a cross between old MUD/MUSH lingo, BBS stuff, web board stuff, and some new stuff all their own.

I swear you could start an entire linguistics study just tracking all of this sillyness, and i bet that some university student will write their thesis on it before too long.

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"...the green, sticky spawn of the stars"
(with apologies to H.P.L.)

Suicide Junkie · #4 October 17th, 2001, 10:51 PM

BBL?
IANAL?

ROTFL = Rolling on the floor laughing.

tesco samoa · #5 October 17th, 2001, 10:55 PM

and always remember most people do not want to know what your doing with your A. So that drops one off. IMHO

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Inter arma silent leges

Puke · #6 October 17th, 2001, 11:38 PM

quote:
Originally posted by suicide_junkie:
BBL?
IANAL?

ROTFL = Rolling on the floor laughing.

be back later. what you say when you leave the chat room, right? do people still say that on chat rooms? do chat rooms still exist, or is it all instant-messenger/ICQ now? god, i feel like Marge Simpson asking Lisa if kids still say 'cool'

[rant]
and the infamous 'i am not a lawyer.' guess i read too much slashdot, but there are always morons chipping in with stupid ideas that they preface with "IANAL but AFAIK.." then go on to say that intelectual property laws are opressing the little people, and all software should be free and we should drink snapple and have free love.. of course theyre not laywers, they may be just as iritating but at least their ideas would not be as uneducated if they were!
[/rant]

and i almost forgot, the slightly more mundane OMG! and OMFG! for oh my god, and the slightly more explicit Version thereof.

Hotfoot · #7 October 18th, 2001, 12:48 AM

quote:
Originally posted by capt_spoogy:
I always wanted to know what IIRC meant...

IIRC=If I Recall Correctly. (edit-see final. Do'h.)

IRL=In Real Life

HFSNPWG=Hotfoot Should Not Post While Groggy.

-Hotfoot
"omg wtf k np thx bye

"

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L* GdY $? Fr? C--- S* T? Sf* Tcp- A++ M>M+ Mp!>Mp* RHP!>RV Pw Fq ND? Rp+ G++ MM++

[This message has been edited by Hotfoot (edited 17 October 2001).]

LazarusLong42 · #8 October 18th, 2001, 01:14 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Puke:
I swear you could start an entire linguistics study just tracking all of this sillyness, and i bet that some university student will write their thesis on it before too long.

Your wait is over

http://se.unisa.edu.au/phd/thesis/thesis.html

Eric/LL

tesco samoa · #9 October 18th, 2001, 02:43 AM

I prefer Structured sentences.

Mindless bable always made me leave chat rooms.

I used to drive people crazy by always spelling everything 100 %. ( Not correct spelling but complete sentences )

Maybe I am getting old or something.

But acrynoms and first letter plotters always make me feel like a heard of elephants are walking over my grave. ( I blame that on working in a corperate enviroment )

Grampa Simpson summed it all up. '....work of the devil.'

So wotd is how I feel

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Inter arma silent leges

capnq · #10 October 18th, 2001, 03:35 AM

ISTR - I Seem To Remember/Recall

The December 2001 PC Gamer has a short column about "l33t 5p34k", but you don't see much of that used outside Online games.

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Cap'n Q
My first mod! Hypermaze quadrant
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"