What do you think about instant messagte acronyms?

[Jetrock]

QUOTE: It's like the only required reading in school today is the TV guide.

You're dating yourself--TV Guide is pretty old-fashioned when you can just flip to the "prevue guide" channel! I imagine that today's kids think reading a book to find out what is on TV is pretty silly, like having to get up and walk across the room to change the channel!

As much as I like good grammar, though, grammar threads are typically counter-productive, especially if someone calling for good grammar spells it "grammer."

[Seamonster]

Grossly overused. I use a very few of them, only sometimes. Unless you're familiar with them, most of them aren't immediately apparent as to their meaning. I find that youngsters seem to know every one that was ever invented and they use them all. I've seen some of my 12 year old granddaughter's Instant Messages and they are almost totally incomprehensible to me. It's like a foreign language. She speaks three languages and that isn't one of them! As someone who is a fairly fast touch typist (I took typing in high school figuring the classes would be 95% girls--wasn't disapointed!) I'd rather just type out the words.

What bothers me more than the overuse of abbreviations is the way grammer and punctuation is completely thrown out the window. Whatever happened to sentences, capital letters, grammer, spelling, and all that good stuff we had hammered into our thick heads in school?

[Grubby]

Once again the generation gap widens... IM typing and 1337 speak (ur, for you are etc) are among the most annoying things in life, but a lot of the more common ones just make more sense to use in their "home" environment...

It would be absurd to type IIRC or IMHO in a college thesis, but appropriate in a reply in this forum. If you dont know what it means...ask and you will forever know. Instant Messaging and Internet forums are the appropriate haven for this stuff and the more you use it the more comfortable it becomes. Smilies are essential in small doses to convey the appropriate slant to your post, without them your message is left to way too many interpretations that it wouldn't be if spoken in a real conversation. Their over use is both annoying and redundant.

GL HF

[JohnT14808]

Smilies and acronyms in very small doses are ok. Better typing and spelling habits would please me a lot in all forms of communications. Kids today just don't seem to care about sentence structure either. It's like the only required reading in school today is the TV guide.

[trainnut57]

To me, it's a lazy man's way of communicating. Are we really approaching the age where only speed counts and the faster we can say something the better? What are we going to do when these acronyms take over? WWNHFM&SATXF. There's a whole sentence.
Have a great day-notice i didn't say hagd!
Oh yeah, one other thing, what if the recipient of an acronym doesn't know exaclty what it means?





Figure it out yet? For those of you who don't get "it", "We Will Need Help From Muldar And Scully And The X-Files". LOL!!!!!!!

[ereimer]

all your acronyms are belong to us

[IRONROOSTER]

A few (emphasis on few) are okay. But I think there are too many. Some are too obscure as a result. One thing to keep in mind is that when the reader doesn't understand your cryptic symbol it could change the message - i.e. what you thought was humorous reply becomes a personal attack.
Enjoy
Paul

[chateauricher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock
But personally, even though I have been online in one way or another for about 17 years, I really cannot stand those silly contractions. They, among other things, are contributing to the destruction of the English language.

I agree wholeheartedly. The quality of English usage has deteriorated to depressing levels. My teeth just grind holding my tongue in check whenever I see/hear errors, be they in written or spoken form.

While I cannot honestly say I have never used any, I try to avoid using them. The only one that I find of any real use is "brb" (be right back) for when I have to leave the computer quickly and don't have time to type out a lengthy explanation (ie: when nature calls; or when I need to pull something off the stove before the house burns down; or to scare away the JWs by answering the door holding a whip and inviting them to join in [;)] ).

[Jetrock]

Actually, most of those abbreviations were in use far before Instant Messaging--in the early days of computer bulletin boards, slow modems (300 baud) and indifferent levels of typing skill resulted in abbreviated communications like the above.

People kept using them even after faster modems came about, and the early modemer culture, MUD culture and USENET culture became the nucleus of World Wide Web culture, which shaped a lot of things like language and its mutilation.

Someday someone had better write a thesis on the development on early Internet culture before long--it would make a good sociology master's thesis project.

But personally, even though I have been online in one way or another for about 17 years, I really cannot stand those silly contractions. They, among other things, are contributing to the destruction of the English language.

[chateauricher]

selector,

The poll question refers to Instant Messaging; not to this forum.

[selector]

TBUOTF!!(They're being used on this forum!!)

[chateauricher]

WDTH2DWT ?

What does this have to do with trains ?

[tatans]

I have no idea what those symbols mean and intend never to learn.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainfan1221

I don't IM but use them for text messaging on my cell. And by the way, you forgot to include LMAO. Laughing my *** off.

hey, i don't encourage use of the "a" word.

[8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D]

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by csxguy

I think they're ok when appropriate. I am an IMer myself, but i still think they should be used sparingly.

I find it interesting that often people who like to use them a lot or worse yet "like them" are the same ones who automatically add all kinds of extra junk on the end of their posts. Kind of like saying, "My time writing the message is important, but yours reading it isn't." Usually if I see a message containing a bunch of them I don't read it and it goes straight to the trash. I purposely did not buy an AT&T wireless phone a while back just because they used them in their commercial.

[Anonymous]

Overused, like Polls.

[trainfan1221]

I don't IM but use them for text messaging on my cell. And by the way, you forgot to include LMAO. Laughing my *** off.

[Anonymous]

kk w/e

[selector]

nm. They're overused. Hey, you asked!

[ereimer]

3 years of text based MUDs
3 years of Ultima Online
5 years of Everquest

yeah i use acronyms , i even think in them... like i'm watching Seinfeld on tv and i think "LOL that's funny!" .
btw , i don't IM

[tstage]

Jordan,

I agree. IMHO, acks are way over used and borderline annoying. Seriously, I try to avoid them as much as possible and speaks da best I be able to....

Tom

[simon1966]

remember the YAP or YUP? My favorite from that era was LOMBARD Lots of money but a real d**k

[Anonymous]

I think they're ok when appropriate. I am an IMer myself, but i still think they should be used sparingly.