Acronyms are aggravating!

Please don't Antonia there are enough stupid abbreviations already.

ROFL means Rolling On the Floor Laughing. Now you know that one, Antonia. Use it soon and often, that will consolidate the knowledge.

The type of abbreviations that have been in common usage for many years didn't exist at all until people started to use them. The ones used on Gransnet didn't either, but they have been used here for the past ten years, to my own certain knowledge, and I believe they were used on social media before that.

There are a lot of complete words in common use today that were unknown if you go back fifty years - or even twenty, for some. Email is one. Texting is another. Same with foods. Would you have known what a tamarillo was, or couscous, or the difference between a chicken korma and a chicken Madras, before you saw them in a supermarket or on a menu?

When you first went onto the internet, you picked up the words for what you were doing there. When you started going to Indian restaurants, you picked up the names of things on the menu. Now that you are posting on social media, you are meeting common abbreviations. If you use them, you will pick up (or guess) what they are abbreviatons of. If you avoid them you will never know.

My brain feels too tired to try to decipher them !
Although I did use DIL in my first post , but generally type it all out !

I don't mean the type of abbreviations that have been in common usage for many years. I mean the 'lol, 'hun,' 'cu,' I don't actually know what ROFL means. I think it's laziness, plus a possible inability to spell correctly. If this is an evolution of language, then it seems that our language is on a slippery slope towards fewer and fewer shades of meaning.

I hate it as it does take longer to figure out what or who they are referring to.

Antonia there are certainly more abbreviations around, and sometimes it’s a nuisance if you don’t know what they mean but we have used Latin abbreviations like etc., e.g. , i.e., N.B., et al, A.D., a.m. and p.m. , v-for versus, Q.E.D and even my mum used PDQ (not Latin) for years without damaging our vocabulary. How many people know exactly what the full words are or what they mean in Latin, but use them because they understand what they intend to say?
It’s just another evolution of language. I’ve never actually heard any one say ROFL though.

eazybee

On another thread about the covid vaccine someone referred to CEV; after some puzzling I came to the conclusion it means Clinically Extremely Vulnerable, but I may be wrong. Definitely not common usage or self-explanatory.

Possibly because that’s the abbreviation used in a clinical context? CV = clinically vulnerable, CEV = clinically extremely vulnerable.

Of course CV has another meaning too.

I have said before that I dislike all the initials, abbreviations, call them what you will. I think it diminishes our language. There will be a generation of people who are unable to express any nuances of thought because their vocabulary has been reduced to a series of initials.

Elegran that made me laugh. I just asked DH, who has an amazing memory for codes and passwords, what his Personal Identification Number was. He thought for a minute then said, “If you mean my PIN number, why not say so?”
At work, always have to use the full word first in a document, adding the acronym after it, and using the acronym thereafter. GN kindly gives us a list of the most frequent acronyms, so no problem for me.

I keep asking whether people write out in full "Personal Identification Number" or "Value Added Tax" or whether they use PIN and VAT. No-one admits to using the whole words. Everyone seems to manage to understand those OK (or should I have put Orl Korrect?)

Bit rude nanna8

It is a very well known one, been around since computers were around. Can’t help it if people live without normal everyday knowledge. Google it if you want proof.

I don't mind the "official" abbreviations, what I dislike are those in posts which appear to have been made up by the poster and which only he/she understands.

If you are trying to make a point why not use the full word. I sometimes think it is a rather silly way of trying to prove he/she is smarter than those reading the post. I particularly dislike it when only using initials for someone who has been in the news.

I used to like ROFPML, still do

Or He Who Could Be Amazing - past tense

Or very occasionally he who can be amazing!

He Who Can Be Awkward
But not always!

I sometimes get a kick out of deciphering them when I can be bothered. Otherwise I just move on to the next contribution and pick the thread up from there.

He who can’t be avoided ?

I suppose I'll get to know all them all. I'm new to GransNet. So many not on the official list! As nadateurbe said, a post can become unreadable.

The odd one might slip into my comments but I much prefer to use full words. Never use text shortcuts.

Callistemon

HWCBA (I made that one up) just brought me a gin
?

He who can’t be arsed ?

I also think grown ups, nay grandparents using LOL is beyond awful. Sorry IARGT.

On another thread about the covid vaccine someone referred to CEV; after some puzzling I came to the conclusion it means Clinically Extremely Vulnerable, but I may be wrong. Definitely not common usage or self-explanatory.