Reprinted with permission, Cat Fanciers' Almanac, January, 1997
Let's face it; while it's easy to get on the phone and start calling breeders and vets about the bizarre symptoms exhibited by your 4-week-old litter of kittens, you're more quickly able to reach a large pool of knowledge (and therefore more likely to get a quick, useful answer) by zipping off an email with a subject line of "HELP!" to the fanciers mailing list. Email is the "party line" of the nineties! [Note: if you remember party line phones, your age is showing!]
Problems quickly arise for the new email user when the help response is something like this:
FWIW, my 4 w/o JBTs had a URI like that. :( IMHO, U may as well let it run its course. OTOH, U might try amoxi BID. WCIH? :-/The medical acronyms may or may not be familiar, but the other ones and the odd little glyphs probably aren't. Today's emails, especially those on a mailing list, are loaded with acronyms and cryptic symbols. We thought we'd extend our break from the WWW and this month explore the world of common acronyms and "smileys." These collectively make up what may be commonly termed "netspeak," although there is yet more to netspeak than covered here.
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AFAIK - As far as I know
AKA - Also known as AIUI - As I understand it ATB - All the best BFN, B4N - Bye for now BG - Big grin BGFETE - Big grin from ear to ear BICBW, BIMBW - But I could/may be wrong BTA - But then again (usually follows IOW) BTAPITEWASS - Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick (hey, I don't make 'em up, I'm just reporting on 'em!) BTSOOM - Beats the "stuff" out of me BTW - By the way CAD - Ctrl-Alt-Del (AKA the reboot sequence or the "3-finger salute") CIS - Consumer Information Service (of CompuServe) CU, CUL, CUL8R - See you (later) DIIK - "Danged" if I know ESAD - Eat "stuff" and die (not for use with casual acquaintances) FAQ - Frequently asked questions FOAF - Friend of a friend FUBAR - "Fouled" up beyond all repair (or recognition) FWIW - For what it's worth FYI - For your information G - Grin GD&R - Grinning, ducking, and running (usually after a really bad pun) GDW - Grin, duck, and weave (same theme) GIGO - Garbage in, garbage out (but for those who accept blindly what computers say, this means "Garbage in, gospel out") GIWIST - Gee, I wish I'd said that HSIK - How should I know HTH - Hope this helps IANAL - I am not a lawyer (this one should appear more in fanciers list messages!) IC, ICN - I see (now) ICOCBW - I could, of course, be wrong IMAO - In my arrogant opinion IMCO - In my correct opinion IMHO - In my humble opinion IMHBACO - In my humble but absolutely correct opinion (Dan's personal favorite!) IMNSHO - In my not so humble opinion IMO - in my opinion |
IOW - In other words JFTR - Just for the record JIC - Just in case LOL - Laughing out loud MCIBTYC - My computer is better than your computer MFZ - Microsoft-free zone (these last two are frequently used when trading insults/barbs between MacIntosh and PC aficionados) MYOB - Mind your own business NSS - No s**t, Sherlock OIC - Oh, I see! OOO - Out of order OTF, OTFL - On the floor (laughing) OTFLMAO - On the floor laughing my a** off OTOH - On the other hand OTR - Off the record PITA - Pain in the "acronym" PMJI - Pardon my jumping in POV - Point of view (not personally owned vehicle!) PTB - Powers that be ROFL, ROTFL - Rolling on (the) floor laughing ROFLMAO - Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off SITD - Still in the dark SNAFU - Situation normal, all "fouled" up SO - Significant other SOL - S**t outta luck STATITI, TATITI - (So) that's all there is to it SWMBO - She who must be obeyed (notice how there isn't a "HE who must be obeyed?") TAFN - That's all for now TANSTAAFL - There ain't no such thing as a free lunch TGIF - Thank God it's Friday TIA - Thanks in advance TIC - Tongue in cheek (not nearly used often enough!) TPTB - The Powers that be TSR - Terminate and stay resident program (software jargon) TTBOMK - To the best of my knowledge TTFN, TT4N - Ta ta for now TTUL - talk to you later TWIT - That's what I think U - You VBG - Very big grin WCIH - What could it hurt? WTF, WTH - What the f***/h*** WYSIWYG - What you see is what you get YMMV - Your milage may vary (meaning you may not agree) |
Somewhat recently these glyphs have become referred to as emoticons, a term Scott Fahlman finds "awful." Whether they are emoticons, glyphs, or smileys, these have become an electronic art form for the inventive computer user (who probably has too much time on his/her hands). A summary of many of these follows along with their usual meanings (there is some variety in exactly what is meant by some of them):
:^) or :-) Grin
:) Little smile
:^( or :-( Pout or frown
:( Little frown
:^>: or :->: Sad
:^C or :-C Really sad
;^) or ;-) Wink
:^I or :-I or :^| or :-| Indifference
:^<: or :-<: A really sarcastic remark
<::^<: or <::-<: A devilishly sarcastic remark
<:;^<: or <:;-<: Devilish wink
%^) or %-) Staring at the monitor too long!
:^/ or :^\ or :-/ or :-\ Skeptical or wry comment
:^S or :-S Confused or incoherent
:^& or :-& Tongue-tied
:^D or :-D Laughing
:^0 or :-0 Surprised
8^0 or 8-0 Really surprised!
:^P or :-P Yuk!
<::^) or <::-) Dunce
*:o) Bozo
B^) or B-) Author wears glasses
0:^) or O:-) Innocent or angelic
:^X or :-X My lips are sealed
:[ "Bummer, Dude!"
|^( or |-{ "Good grief!"
|^0 or |-0 Dull; I'm snoring
There are LOTS more of these, but space prohibits us from listing them all. Suffice it to say there are emoticons for just about any facial expression. You are limited only by your imagination (and the ASCII character set!). Now there's no reason for your email to be misunderstood, since you'll be able to put your facial expression right next to the words! At the very least, always put a smiley or a <VBG> next to comments not meant to be taken seriously. It'll save you arguments down the road.