Texting Abbreviations On Discussion Forums

Discussion in 'Evolution of Language' started by Faye Fox, Sep 8, 2022.

  1. Faye Fox

    Faye Fox Veteran Member
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    Do abbreviations meant to make texting more efficient, serve a place on discussion forums? It seems silly to me to type out a post and then add in abbreviations. Why not just say hahaha or use a big grinning emoticon instead of lol? If time is of the essence, then why type a wordy message in the first place with long little-used words some may have to look up in the dictionary?

    I rarely text and so many abbreviations I have to look up or just make a guess.
     
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  2. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    It's a generational thing.

    I loathe it. But we are in an age of Race to the Bottom.
     
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  3. Al Amoling

    Al Amoling Veteran Member
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    That's RTB whipper snapper
     
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  4. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I don't understand some of the abbreviations that are regularly used here. It took me years to figure out that "SIL" referred to "sister-in-law" unless I'm wrong about that. You've probably noticed that I don't often use abbreviations here unless I have defined them first. The second or third time I reference something in a thread, I might use an abbreviation. I do sometimes use PITA, but that's only to avoid having to spell out that someone is being a pain in the ass.
     
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    Last edited: Sep 8, 2022
  5. Bruce Andrew

    Bruce Andrew Very Well-Known Member
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    So you don't like "FB"? [​IMG]
     
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  6. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Yup. You set it up so that future space-saving references can be made and understood.

    "We covered the story of last night's Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meeting..." NOW people know what PTA means when you subsequently use it.

    It's all meant to dumb us down.
     
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  7. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
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    Most I'm getting to where I can figure them out, but some I don't know. One reason why I tell the grandkids I don't text, want to chat, call.
     
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  8. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I don't even like Facebook, but that's another topic.
     
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  9. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I like fat butts!
     
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  10. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I'd rather have six, but five bananas are a good start.
     
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    Last edited: Sep 8, 2022
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  11. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I'm guilty of "SIL", "BIL", etc. I hate typing those hyphenated things like sister-in-law.
     
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  12. Krystal Shay

    Krystal Shay Very Well-Known Member
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    It takes me a long time to text, whether I'm sending or replying because I spell out every word and I try to use punctuation. I don't use, u, ur, n and some others. I will admit that I use lol and maybe a couple of abbreviations sometimes, but I have been trying to break that habit. :rolleyes:
     
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  13. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Somehow that's different. It's a specific thing/person in a specific context, not an overused hackneyed lazy reply.
     
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  14. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I hate texting, but occasionally I have to respond to one of the kids. I have learned to use the dictation feature which works quite well, though. Then I don't have to type anything.
     
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  15. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I'm the exact same way. I've yet to figure out how to get the cursor to an exact spot in the middle of a word so I can backspace over errors and fix them. But I am getting better at using the auto-suggests.
     
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