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Acorn Internet User Guide

 

Appendix A: Acronyms and Smilies


Acronyms

Acronyms are widely used over the Internet in order to save typing time. There is no official list of acronyms, but here are some of the more widely used ones:


 
AFAIK As Far As I Know
AFAICT As Far As I Can Tell
BTWBy The Way
FWIWFor What It's Worth
FYI For Your Information
IAEIn Any Event
IANALI Am Not A Lawyer
IMOIn My Opinion
IMHOIn My Humble Opinion
IMNSHOIn My Not So Humble Opinion
IMCOIn My Considered Opinion
IOWIn Other Words
ISTRI Seem To Remember
L8RLater
NRNNo Reply Necessary
OTOHOn The Other Hand
ROF,LRolling On Floor, Laughing
ROTFLRolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTMRight On The Money
RSNReal Soon Now [which may be a long time coming]
RTFMConsult The Documentation
SITDStill In The Dark
SOSignificant Other (i.e. partner)
SysOp System Operator
TIAThanks In Advance
TICTongue In Cheek
TLAThree Letter Acronym (such as this)
TSRTerminate and Stay Resident program
WITWordsmith In Training
WYSIWYGWhat You See Is What You Get
YMMVYour Mileage May Vary (Your experience may differ)
YKYBHTLWYou know you've been hacking too long when...

Smilies

Because of the limitations of written communication, where the tone of voice is not available to the reader, there is widespread use of `smilies' (or 'emoticons') in postings. The most common of these is :-) (a smiling face - look at it sideways). This is meant to show that the writer is smiling when she writes, and no offence is intended. The international Internet audience covers a wide range of cultures and familiarities with the English language, so opportunities for misunderstandings to arise are frequent - Anglo-Saxon irony is one such pitfall - so smilies can be useful.

Other smilies are:
;-) Winky smiley. User just made a flirtatious and/or sarcastic remark. More of a "don't hit me for what I just said" smiley
:-( Frowning smiley. User did not like that last statement or is upset or depressed about something
:-I Indifferent smiley. Better than a frowning smiley, but not quite as good as a happy smiley
=:-O Scary
:-P Sticking tongue out

Here are some somewhat less common smilies:
%-) User has been staring at a green screen for 15 hours straight.
:*) User is drunk
8-) User is wearing sunglasses
B:-) Sunglasses on head
::-) User wears normal glasses
B-) User wears horn-rimmed glasses
{:-) User wears a toupee
}:-( Toupee in an updraft
:'-( User is crying
:'-) User is so happy, she is crying
:-@ User is screaming
:-# User wears braces (US English - i.e. on her teeth)

This edition Copyright © 3QD Developments Ltd 2015
Last Edit: Tue,03 Nov 2015