How to Master Common E-mail Slang

Now that you're on the Internet, you'll want to impress people with your e-mail lingo. These common terms will also help you keep your message concise and to the point.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet Access
• Computers
• E-mail Software

Other Terms

1. Familiarize yourself with the following common e-mail terms.

2. newbie: a person who is new to the Internet. This term usually carries the connotation of inexperience and naiveté.

3. netiquette: etiquette practiced on the Internet. Netiquette is often dynamic and hard to define, but the netiquette of the specific forum you're using will become apparent after you use the forum for a while.

4. flame: a public berating of one person by another on an Internet forum. Flames are usually provoked and are often the result of the flame victim transgressing a rule of the forum or violating netiquette.

5. spam: unsolicited mass e-mail. Think of it as junk e-mail.

6. sig file: truncated term for signature file, a short message that automatically attaches itself to outgoing e-mail messages. Consult your specific software for information about creating and maintaining sig files.

7. sig quote: a (usually famous) quotation used in a sig file

Abbreviations

8. Familiarize yourself with the following common abbreviations.

9. LOL: laughing out loud

10. ROFL: rolling on floor laughing

11. ROTF: rolling on the floor (variation of ROFL)

12. IMO: in my opinion

13. IMHO: in my humble opinion

14. BTW: by the way

15. TTFN: ta ta for now

16. TTYL: talk to you later

17. FAQ: frequently asked questions

Who Can Help:

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on 11/22/2005 In the old paper days carbon copies were noted as "cc:" The days of e-mails carbon copies are considered forward. Which should be noted as "fem's." Which stands for forwarded e-mails.

on 11/22/2005 I felt so dumb when I tried to chat and someone would leave a slang like *S* (means smile) or lol (laugh out loud), so tonight I just explained that I was new to the cyber world and wondered if someone would help me with the slang. It was amazing how eager folks were to help!! I learned so much and feel more confident online chatting. So just ask - people are very willing to help, and you might meet a new friend too! :)

on 11/22/2005 The cooler slang terms tend to be the nuances, such as "^5" (high-five) and "muahs" or "muahz" (kisses) ? each of which can be extended to emphasize the bond. For example, "^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^5!" and "mmmmmmmmmmmuah," etc. There are many, many slang terms, such as "wb" (welcome back), "ty" (thank you), "yw" (you're welcome), "one" (a way of saying goodbye which is short for "one love"), and they grow and change with time. For instance, "Whasssssssuuuuuuuuuuup!" is played-out, but it's fun learning it. So, have fun!

on 11/22/2005 If you have a mobile phone, you probably write words shorter on it so that you can write more on one text message. You can use the same writing on the Net - every1 rites like th@!

on 11/22/2005 Use numbers and one-word letters to type faster - for example: 2nite, 4ever, u r so cool, y, etc. Also, u can leave out little words and still get the message across - i sorry!