Web 101 Guide To Acronyms

When you log on to the Internet, do you sometimes feel like people are talking some language that you have never heard of? Quite often, they are. The web is full of shorthand comments that “old timers” such as myself know just as well as any real word, but may be puzzling to a new user, and sometimes asking people to explain can be embarrassing.

This list is very general, and lots of online communities have their own abbreviations that are specific to them. For instance, Joker’s Updates, a popular site for the CBS series Big Brother has a whole page dedicated to their specific acronyms. Anytime you think you may have run across one that may be community-specific, look at the context it is used in, and quite often you can figure it out. If not, look around for an explanation page like we just linked to.  If all else fails ask, and no matter how snippy a responder may be, just remember that they were once a new user just like you, so they have nothing to be uppity about.

AFK - Away From Keyboard (meaning the person has walked away for a bit, or was away)

AIM - Short for AOL Instant Messenger

ASAP - As Soon As Possible

ASL - This one doesn’t appear that often any more, but it is “Age, Sex, Location?”

BBL - Be Back Later

BRB - Be Right Back

BTW - By The Way

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

FTW - For The Win

FUBAR - Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition

FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt

FWIW - For What It’s Worth

FYI - For Your Information

GG - Good Game

GL - Good Luck

GTG - Got To Go

GTR - Got To Run

IMO - In My Opinion

KK - Okay

LOL - Laugh Out Loud

MSN - Short for Microsoft Messenger, now known as Windows Live Messenger.

ROFL - Rolling On Floor, Laughing

ROFLMAO - Rolling On Floor, Laughing My Ass Off

STFU - Shut The F*** Up

TPTB - The Powers That Be

TTFN - Ta-Ta For Now

TTYL - Talk To You Later

TY - Thank You

TYT - Take Your Time

TYVM - Thank You Very Much

WTF - What The F***

WTG - Way To Go

WTH - What The Hell

YIM - Short for Yahoo Instant Messenger

YW - You’re Welcome

This is but a sampling of the ones you can find scattered around the web.  Don’t see the one you want to know?  Leave us a comment and we will do our best to tell you what it means!