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SELECTED GLOSSARY OF TEXT/INSTANT MESSAGING TERMS
This listing provides definitions for
selected text/Instant message {text/IM} acronyms and words/phrases used in
Internet message boards, blogs {web logs}, chat rooms, and discussion forums.
Text/IM acronyms and Internet words/phrases may also have, to a greater or
lesser degree, filtered out into informal conversation and {supposedly} formal
school writing.
Commentary & conversation on Internet blogs and discussion forums is usually informal. Speed in exchanging
messages is highly valued. As a result, many persons writing on these forums use a number of abbreviations
& acronyms.
Here is a selected list of common text/IM terms & their meanings:
TERM/
SYMBOL MEANING
@
at
:o)
smile {happy}
;o)
wink
:o(
sad {sorry}
afaik
as far as I know
asdf A nonsense filler word used as a subject for
posts. The first letters on the second line of most
keyboard. A person may use these letters
instead of thinking up a title
for a message {on
those message boards where a title is needed
before you
can submit a message; "aoeu" is also
used in
this manner
atm
at this moment
board short
for 'message board' similar to "bulletin
board' and 'discussion forum'; discussion
forums are more interactive than message
boards or bulletin boards
blog short for
'web log'; an online dairy of your
thoughts on a specific topic or whatever
crosses your mind; see discussion forum
blogger a person who blogs {a
person who post
comments or questions on blogs}
blogging {vb} the act of posting on blogs
blogging {adj} those things related to blogs
blogosphere the internet blogging community {see also "net roots"
brb
be right back [used in chat rooms]
btw by the way
caps
capital letters; Capital letters in text/IM usually means
yelling or emphasis. Most forums/blogs frown upon the
routine use of capital letters.
discussion
forum interactive online
communities formed for
group discussion & presentation of information
on specific or general topics; 'blogs' and
'message boards' are
related terms;
many online communities also have group and
private 'chat rooms' and private instant
messaging features for their members;
discussion forums usually have members who
consider
themselves to be part of a dynamic
community of Interest;
In some discussion
forums only members can post
comments
and/or questions and start new "threads" on
subjects to be discussed; in other discussion
forums, both members and guest can perform
these functions.
down
thread {adv} location term,
meaning
comments that are found
below the post {comment} that you're reading or writing
flame {v] to post a series
of highly inflammatory
insulting comments, often using profanity
fwiw for what it's worth
h/o hello
heading {n} the name the poster
gives to his/her
comment
iirc
If I recall correctly
im {n} instant messages {made on cell phones}
imo In my opinion
imho in my humble opinion
imnsho in my not so humble opinion
irl
in real life
iow
in other words
hijacking
the
thread writing a comment or series of
comments that attempts to
and/ or succeeds in taking the thread {written discussion}
off of {away from} its original subject; this usually is
considered a malicious act or at least, in bad form,
meaning something that shouldn't be done
jk (j/k) just
kidding. Used when your immediately
preceding comment is not to be taken seriously
lmao laughing my ass
off (see roflmao)
lol
written with or without exclamation marks; means
"laughing out loud"
LTE
Letter to the editor {of newspapers & other print
media
lurk {vb}
to visit a discussion forum without
posting comments
lurker {n} usually a neutral referent but sometimes
depending on the blog/discussion forum may be
a
very negative term for
a person who visits
a
discussion forum to read the posts,
but doesn't
post messages; in the neutral
sense of the word "lurkers' are often 'newbies'
{see newbie} who start out by lurking on the site
before becoming active
posters
mol more or less
MSM mainstream media
netroots {n} a referent for the internet based community
{usually
refers to political blogs}
newbie
a new member of an online discussion forum or blog;
Depending on the online community,
"newbie" may be a
negative referent or a referent with no negative or positive
attribution
n/t no text (also "nt")
; used when there is no text
in the message but the heading
OMG Oh My God {usually written
with an exclamation mark
to indicate
astonishment}
open
thread {n} A thread that
includes posts about multiple
topics. In an open thread, a person can not go
"off topic" or have "thread drift".
OT {n} Off topic
; a digression from the topic being
discussed;
unless it is an 'open thread'
posters are expected to keep 'on topic'; some
online communities are more
accepting of
digressions than others;
see "thread drift" and "hijacking
the thread"
pm {n} personal message/ or private message;
some
discussion forums have instant messaging
features; each member has his or her own
personal page and can send and receive
private messages with other members;
related terms: "pmed"; "pming"
post 1. {n} the
comment; message
post 2. {v} the act of submitting a
post
poster {n} the person who writes a
specific post ;
the same as 'blogger'
pov {n} Point Of View
refresh 1. {v} add a comment to a thread that had been
archived, thus continuing the
thread
refresh 2. {v} a function listed as an icon on the
tool bar &
found by clicking on 'View' in the tool bar; this
opens up the latest edition of the specific
Internet page a person was on
so that you can
see new comments or posts
re-post 1. {v} {"repost"} the act of putting a post in a
thread
that had
previously
been posted; this is usually
frowned
upon, especially
if the person doing so
wasn't the person who wrote the original
post;
usually discussion forums expect that a person
have
prior
permission from the poster before
re-posting
that person's comment; it is also
expected that a re-post be identified as such
re-post 2. {n} {repost} a comment that has been previously
posted on that website or on another website
rotflmao rolling on the floor laughing my ass off.
Some letters of
this shorthand phrase are
omitted to make phrases such
as 'lmao'.
Also a letter may be
added to this acronym to
make 'roflmfao' {the second "f" means 'fat'}
rotflol
rolling on the floor laughing out
loud
S.O.P standard
operating procedure
s/u c u later {see you later}
site {n} short for "website"
snark {n}
often written <snark> ; posted after comments to
alert readers to the fact that those comments are
meant to be sarcastic
snip usually written
-snip- ; means that the quote is ended;
this term probably came from the snipping
sound that
scissors made ; it means that you've
cut out an portion
of an article for quoting and now
you are going back to
writing your own words
sop
{n} standard operating procedure {a description of
the
usual way that people do things}
thread {n} a series of posts
either on a specific
topic
or, in the
case of an "open thread", on multiple
topics, or any
topic
that comes to mind {dependent on the rules of that
forum/blog}
thread
drift {n} an
off topic post in a thread on a specific
topic;
thread
drift is frowned upon to a greater
or lesser
degree depending on the
particular discussion forum or
the particular thread within a discussion forum;
same as
going "OT" {off-topic}.
tmi
too much information
troll
{n} a negative referent for a person
who posts
on a discussion board
for the purpose of
disrupting the
conversation
troll
{v} to act like a troll
up thread {adv} {upthread}
location term used to refer to a
comment
or omments that were
made further
above the
post that you are reading or writing.
In some blogs, the latest posts are placed first.
In other blogs, posts are placed in chronological
order with the earliest
posted comments
appearing before the latest comments. And in
still other blogs, responses to posts are
placed under the "parent" post that prompted
it.
vbf
very best friend
w/
with
w/o
without
url {n} the address of a website
wtg!
way to go! {a complimentary saying}
****
Thanks to
smokeymonkey, lil-t, and anonymous poster for sending additions to this list.
Thanks also to Viracocha {Sian} for hipping me by elentto "atm" by ^a^daf
Keep' em coming!
Please
click here to contact me
if you have any additions or corrections to
this list.
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