General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPlease, Please, and Please..Don't Use Abbreviations That All Do Not know..Please...
..Yes, the abbreviations are easier to use, but some of them are very difficult to interpret. I often
need to look up many of them, and finding the meaning is often very hard. Don't assume we
all know the meaning of the abbreviations, because many of us do not know the meaning.
...Consequently, the full meaning of a post is often lost. I respectfully request that we use full
words unless everyone knows the meaning. For example: we all know the meaning of the G.O.P.,
but there are so many we do not know the meaning of. Thank You for reading this...
....Stuart G
unweird
(2,566 posts)Ok?
Towlie
(5,332 posts)
←
Ka-Dinh Oy
(11,686 posts)hvn_nbr_2
(6,492 posts)...then I conclude that the poster isn't even trying to communicate, so I don't read/listen/pay attention.
Also, if I have to watch a 50-minute video to find out what a post is even about, well, no.
Ka-Dinh Oy
(11,686 posts)Paper Roses
(7,475 posts)Scottie Mom
(5,812 posts)Some of the old ones like LMAO or IMO...oK...but some of the new ones? No clue.
Jeebo
(2,037 posts)I rarely use abbreviations for just the reason you mention. If you're going to post your comments here at all, you're defeating your purpose if you use abbreviations that others might not understand, or that they're going to have to spend time scratching their heads trying to figure out. It's like posting your messages in code. I hate abbreviations.
-- Ron
Pongo
(4,170 posts)niyad
(113,966 posts)Pongo
(4,170 posts)Ive been reading this site for a long time. I need to go check out some of the different groups. I didnt know there were so many.
calimary
(81,608 posts)Sometimes its like alphabet soup! I imagine being in the military would mean youd have to deal with those initials at least once every five seconds or so.
Pongo
(4,170 posts)Ive never been in the military.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)There is no limit on the number of characters allowed on DU posts.
LAS14
(13,792 posts)PlanetBev
(4,104 posts)Im just not that good with abbreviations.
IL Dem
(818 posts)Thank you.
PatSeg
(47,770 posts)There are quite a few acronyms that are pretty well known, like OMG or WTF, but I keep encountering ones where I haven't got a clue. Sometimes even Googling them doesn't help, as I think some people just abbreviate as they go, assuming others can read their mind.
I finally reached my limit and decided if people can't type out the actual words, I'm just going to move on to something else. I was spending more time trying to find out what they were attempting to say than it would have taken to type the words in the first place.
We have language for a reason, it is how we communicate our thoughts and ideas with others. We all here fortunate enough to have sufficient education to be able to use that language effectively and clearly. And when we come to a site like Democratic Underground, it is not like we are sending chatty texts on our phone to our best friends, who probably know what we are trying to say.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)So often, I see abbreviations that seem to have popped out of somebody's head on the fly. I skip posts like that and move on.
PatSeg
(47,770 posts)Like several words pop in their head, but it is too much work to type all of them out. Or it is "TMW to type all of them out"!
Awhile back I posted something like this on Facebook and we actually had great fun with it. People made up some of the most absurd examples to make the point and we all guessed what they meant. Meanwhile, one of the people that it was actually directed at, completely agreed with the post, but never got the clue. She still does it as if she is a fifteen year old girl texting her BFF. I just don't respond. If "ikr" is the only comment you have, then why say anything at all. Click "like" and move on.
I had a few really good English teachers when I was young and they would be appalled by the ridiculously abbreviated communications of the 21st century.
Firestorm49
(4,041 posts)Those who used them, please, spell it out the first time, then use the acronyms. It's a big country with more acronyms than can be remembered. It may be routine for you, but it's not for many of the rest of us.
NCjack
(10,279 posts)Lefta Dissenter
(6,623 posts)Just because the poster knows who and where the person is from doesn't mean the rest of us do, especially during primary season and before an election. I can't stand "Warner ahead in polls." So yes: "Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) ahead is polls" is extremely helpful.
intheflow
(28,521 posts)95% of acronyms I don't understand are listed there. Considering we're either at or near a majority of internet users accessing the 'net via cell phones, the use of abbreviations is a blessing.
Paladin
(28,287 posts)All on account of all the abbreviations I've had to look up in the last month or so. The OP has it right: make plain what groups you're talking about when you post. It's just good manners.
Major Nikon
(36,828 posts)MyMission
(1,856 posts)Seriously. Not one I know.
Myrddin
(327 posts)I Will comply
ecstatic
(32,798 posts)Considering the number of major companies with that name. But changing my search to "wilco meaning" did the trick.
lame54
(35,359 posts)speak easy
(9,345 posts)for HighFructosePronSyrup
Sneederbunk
(14,319 posts)IronLionZion
(45,667 posts)A HERETIC I AM
(24,382 posts)or it might get out to the VC and he could become an MIA and we could all end up on KP.
Dagstead Bumwood
(3,688 posts)And if you dooooooooooo....
ret5hd
(20,564 posts)youre going on about.
Totally Tunsie
(10,885 posts)Hugin
(33,222 posts)Spelling unusual or custom abbreviations/acronyms out somewhere in the post.
I agree it is frustrating and sometimes in general discourse abbreviations/acronyms may have multiple meanings.
Stuart G
(38,458 posts)This is not a joke. Please look at the number of people that agree with this problem. We
should try to keep our messages clear, simple and easy to read. Thanks to all who have
read this post and agree that this is a problem for many of us....
ChazInAz
(2,580 posts)Incidentally, I only recently learned that FTW no longer means what it did in my Hippie days.
Makes a real difference in my understanding of a title like "AOC FTW"!
CaptainTruth
(6,619 posts)Every time I see it that's still my first thought.
Timewas
(2,200 posts)If there is an abbreviation I don't even try, just don't read the post, waste of time.
lillypaddle
(9,581 posts)but it warrants posting again.
Use the full name/title the first time, and then use the abbreviation thereafter. For example:
Planned Parenthood of Central Okla. (PPCO) just opened a new clinic in Edmond. PPCO hopes to open several more clinic locations in the near future.
FakeNoose
(32,917 posts)The entire name must be spelled out completely on the first usage. Subsequent references may be abbreviated for brevity's sake.
Thanks Lilypaddle!
lillypaddle
(9,581 posts)AwakeAtLast
(14,134 posts)Louder for the folks in the back!
Montauk6
(8,088 posts)... I'm still trying to figure out terms like "gaslighting" and "virtue signalling."
Christ, I'm old....
Stuart G
(38,458 posts)....I use ..."mature" when I can... Some of the modern terms leave me wondering for awhile..Then
I go on and read something else that I don't know, and then I wonder some more. It really never
stops, and the English language is alive and growing and new words and abbreviations appear
all the time.......
Response to Stuart G (Reply #28)
ancianita This message was self-deleted by its author.
ProfessorGAC
(65,427 posts)I'm 64, but whether I'm mature is debatable!
Hugin
(33,222 posts)It really lays it out there.
I need to see if I can find it somewhere so I can re-post it.
'virtue signaling' is generally merely a pejorative way of criticizing those who choose to do the correct thing like wearing a damn mask during a pandemic.
Hugin
(33,222 posts)Ron Obvious
(6,261 posts)Great movie in any case.
I think "Virtue Signalling" is fairly self-explanatory: "look at me having the correct opinions". It's usually applied to the side we disagree with, especially if we think they're not sincere.
CaptainTruth
(6,619 posts)Signaling is used in many ways, consider a train crossing. When a train is near lights flash & bells ring to warn drivers of the approaching train. We could call that "train signaling."
I hear "virtue signaling" & I imagine a person with virtue walking down the sidewalk with lights flashing & bells ringing to warn other pedestrians so they don't end up injured or even possibly killed in a horrific collision with a... a... virtuous person?
Celerity
(43,773 posts)group you are engaging with, even if you do not really believe it or you have no practical input into doing something about it. It can be a form of gaslighting people as well. You erect a fake sense of moral superiority or you are trying to enforce groupthink at a superficial level to gain plaudits from the group.
A cousin of virtual signalling is humblebrag.
niyad
(113,966 posts)Example.
Ron Obvious
(6,261 posts)No "r u" for "are you" etc, please! Blech!
piddyprints
(14,651 posts)I don't even use text speak in text messages. It's not that difficult to type out complete words.
Ron Obvious
(6,261 posts)I've been known to use semi-colons as well, and I'm quite smug about it.
lpbk2713
(42,775 posts)but I use it anyway.
dhill926
(16,391 posts)Stuart G
(38,458 posts)dhill926
(16,391 posts)ancianita
(36,238 posts)a sloppy acronym of the first.
piddyprints
(14,651 posts)He was going to tell me how it went. When I sent him a text asking if he'd called yet, he replied "LM."
My head started trying to decipher it. Hmmm ... Love Mom? Nope. Lost mask? Nah. Light marmalade? Can't be.
Finally, I called about something else and told him I had no idea what his message meant. "Left message" was his reply. Sure, I should have know that exactly how?
And now you know! If someone texts LM to you, they left a message to someone. Well, unless it means something else as well.
Hugin
(33,222 posts)Laughing Mime?
Left Most?
piddyprints
(14,651 posts)There were several possibilities.
ancianita
(36,238 posts)Joint Terrorism Task Force for full first reference, then JTTF is okay thereafter.
That rule can easily apply to all first comments by posters.
mwooldri
(10,303 posts)Example IOKIYAR - It's OK If You're A Republican - is commonly used here. Are there others?
littlemissmartypants
(22,871 posts)How about in the Community Help group
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1256
or
Languages and Linguistics
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1165
...
Or both.
MyMission
(1,856 posts)See my post #99. I was probably typing it while yours came in so I didn't see it.
I like your ideas too. I thought it could be in announcements because this request came from the top. Announce what acronyms are considered common, since the boss said we shouldn't use ones people don't know...how are some supposed to know what others may or may not know? Announce them.
Community help would be a good place to learn this too, and the language and linguistics could be more of an informative thread. And it would turn out to be ongoing and evolving.
I love what I learn here on DU, but for newbies and oldsters, announcing the acronyms would be helpful. I don't really want to look up acronyms when I'm reading a post. If anyone posts confusing gibberish letters (as some have done on this thread) we can reply " please see announcements for which acronyms are considered common." Sometimes that can be revised as needed. I didn't put DOJ on my list, but that's a common one, in my opinion (IMO).
I understand some are having fun with this thread, posting acronyms as replies, while most agree with Stuart and are more serious about it. Seems you and I are trying to figure out how to address this problem. What do you think?
littlemissmartypants
(22,871 posts)I would love to think we could fix it. I actually think Community Help would be the most appropriate place to post it with Language and Linguistics as a back up. Announcements is more appropriate for a "one off" kind of post so I don't think that would be the best place for such a running and updating post for acronyms and other abbreviations.
When I run across a post full of acronyms how I proceed depends on how interested I am in the post. I often move on to another post. I may use the urban dictionary if I am interested in learning more. I also have put cryptic and unintelligible posters on full ignore and trashed many threads that were just too incoherent to be worth the time.
DU is full of post redundancy. Duplicate posts run rampant so the odds are good if you don't get it in the first post you will in the second or third. Few posters check for duplicate content before posting and the only place this is considered a mistake is in Late Breaking News.
I admire StuartG's persistence. This isn't his first post on this topic. I don't see anything changing though. It is nice to dream.
Thank you for your reply, MyMission.
❤ miss pants
momta
(4,079 posts)And it might be apocryphal, but it was about someone who sent a message to their mom that a family friend had died. Mom replied "I'm so sorry, lol." Person asked mom why on earth she texted "lol" on a message like that. Turns out mom thought it meant "lots of love".
Abbreviations can be difficult.
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)Lefta Dissenter
(6,623 posts)For the longest time I thought "FTW" meant "fuck the world." I finally learned that it was actually a good thing - "for the win!"
TNNurse
(6,933 posts)As a retired healthcare person, I am aware that there are acronyms and abbreviations that are redundant and confusing.
AMA--American Medical Association
AMA--Against Medical Advice
These two amused me.
I am sure there are many examples that can be used.
Also some of us are older than others of you, be kind.
KS Toronado
(17,470 posts)In My Humble Opinion.
Magoo48
(4,723 posts)I often lose the plot entirely when I stumble over an alphabet soup of mysterious Capital letters.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,930 posts)Perhaps because I'm not accessing DU on a phone or small tablet, and I have a full sized keyboard under my fingers, I find it's a lot faster to type out a full word rather than try to remember the stupid abbreviation.
Yes, there are a lot of common abbreviations, but when you are referring to something more local or out of the mainstream, please spell it out in full at your first mention. There's been a lot of times when I've tried to find the meaning of an abbreviation on line, and nothing sensible or relevant comes up
Oh, and perhaps even if you are posting in the thread for a specific state, you might want to give us a clue where you are, especially if talking about something like the weather.
Keep in mind that we are not all watching the same news feed as you are, so give us a clue what you are responding to.
CaptainTruth
(6,619 posts)judesedit
(4,443 posts)Warpy
(111,470 posts)or any of the more private search engines. It only takes a second. It's what I do.
Urban Dictionary is also useful, although you might not want to do it at work. Employers frown on random hysterical laughter, work isn't supposed to be fun.
PutGramaOnThePhone
(236 posts)hurple
(1,307 posts)Please add some context to your posts!
I can't count how many posts make me ask WTF or say IDKWTHTTA*.
heh.
* I don't know what the hell they're talking about
ret5hd
(20,564 posts)came after airing of grievances.
Dammit.
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,756 posts)BadGimp
(4,024 posts)PutGramaOnThePhone
(236 posts)folks (me included), bend your brains a bit and learn some abbreviations
now...what about emoji?
electric_blue68
(15,033 posts)from back in the early '00's I picked up most of the ones I know because there is a wide age range of fans that post.
Butterflylady
(3,557 posts)I always feel like a dumb a** because I need help.
barbtries
(28,824 posts)but others are not so common. here's a great resource:
https://www.acronymfinder.com/
if that doesn't work, just ask. and don't wait to ask the way i did. I was probably on DU for a year before finally discovering that IOKIYAR means "It's Okay If You're A Republican"
I don't see people suddenly writing out Republican or grand old party. A lot of people are posting from a phone. I'm likely to use any appropriate, common acronym available before laboriously pecking it onto my phone.
Just saying. If you don't know just ask,DUers (the people of Democratic Underground) are as a rule happy to help.
PutGramaOnThePhone
(236 posts)My experience in reading here at DU, has been that there is often someone asking, and Ive only seen polite, respectful, and helpful replies*
* I have only been around for about 5 years, and certainly dont get to all the corners and crannies of DU
electric_blue68
(15,033 posts)... I just looked it up, and now I know. 👍 😁
I just saw the other one I didn't know, looked it up -
now I know that one, too. Thx!
barbtries
(28,824 posts)the Urban dictionary is good for more recent acronyms too, but i don't know the URL (universal resource locator, I think)
electric_blue68
(15,033 posts)DFW
(54,515 posts)And the title is Harvey and Sheila, cover your ears, fast.
For anyone who has no idea what Im talking about, it mocks Americas penchant for using abbreviations all the time, and this song is over 50 years old!
By the way, if you find the excessive use of abbreviations bothersome, dont EVER visit Germany or France!
littlemissmartypants
(22,871 posts)mopinko
(70,388 posts)as it does.
try to keep up. it wont kill you to learn new things.
marie999
(3,334 posts)MyMission
(1,856 posts)It took me a while to figure that one out.
Suggestion: could we have a common abbreviation list, perhaps in the announcements?
Many here know many abbreviations, others only know some "common" ones. I'm not one to use abbreviations much, I tend to spell things out. Some folks do us them a lot and may not realize which ones are common or well known here.
The ones I know that come to mind are the following.
FYI, FWIW, IMO, POS, FOS, SOL, WTF, K+R, GOPQ or GQP, LoL, ROFL,
(I no longer use gop)
There are probably other common ones I'm not thinking of, and others I don't use that I figure out in context; but many times I don't know what other abbreviations mean.
I appreciate this topic.
Thanks.
PCIntern
(25,656 posts)And GTFOOMT
B4 I4Q Ru/18 qt (pi)?
pnwmom
(109,025 posts)JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,384 posts)Chakaconcarne
(2,482 posts)We've all had to learn them at some point... just takes time.