Internet abbreviations

Like any culture, the Internet world has developed a whole language of abbreviations, acronyms, and slang expressions. The following list describes some of the common terms you are likely to encounter in Usenet newsgroups or in your e-mail.

See also emoticon; smiley.

Abbreviation

Description

aTdHvAaNnKcSe

Thanks in advance

AWTTW

A word to the wise

BRB

Be right back

BTW

By the way

CU

See you

FAQ

Frequently asked question

FAQL

Frequently asked question list

FOAF

Friend of a friend

F2F

Face to face

FWIW

For what it's worth

GR&D

Grinning, running, and ducking

IMHO

In my (sometimes not very) humble opinion

IWBNI

It would be nice if

IYFEG

Insert your favorite ethnic group

LOL

Laughing out loud

MEGO

My eyes glaze over

MOTAS

Member of the appropriate sex

MOTOS

Member of the opposite sex

MOSS

Member of the same sex

Ob-

Obligatory, as in ob-joke

OTOH

On the other hand

PD

Public domain

PITA

Pain in the ass

PMFJI

Pardon me for jumping in

RL

Real life

ROTFL

Rolling on the floor laughing

RTFM

Read the (expletive deleted) manual

SO

Significant other

TIA

Thanks in advance

TTFN

Ta ta for now

WRT

With respect to

YMMV

Your mileage may vary

$0.02

My two cents worth