NETWORKS

Shrtcts on the Info Hiway

by Julia R. O'Brien

[Ed: Links to web pages and/or e-mail addresses which have become inactive since the publication of this article have been enclosed in curly brackets { }. Replacement links have been provided where possible.]

"IMHO, YMMV about how you will use this in RL...."

Have you ever come across something like the above in e-mail or a newsgroup post, and you have no clue what the person is talking about? Well, welcome to shorthand on the Internet! Seasoned users employ shortcuts to replace common phrases when writing e-mail or responding to a newsgroup posting. Here's a short list to help you decipher a few of the more common ones:

IMHO in my humble opinion
IMNSHO in my not so humble opinion
YMMV your mileage may vary
RL real life (opposed to virtual life online)
BTW by the way

some put-downs and a (sincere?) retraction:

MYOB mind your own business
RTFM read the bleeping manual (for people who ask questions that are too basic)
J/K just kidding

applause (often ironic):

LOL laughing out loud
ROFL rolling on the floor laughing

some farewells, including rebuses:

TTFN ta-ta for now
TTYL talk to you later
BRB be right back
AFK away from keyboard
TIA thanks in advance (also written rebus-style as "aTdHvAaNnKcSe")
L8R later

and my own favorite, an injunction to read, and deal with, the computer code behind the software:

UTSL "Use the source, Luke!"

Julia O'Brien, who managed the ACF's Computer Lab at Third Avenue North, thanks the O'Buddy Mailing List for their help.
{obrien@nyu.edu}

Posted 15 October 1995. Reviewed 30 January 2004.