The acronym LOL - oh, how I loathe thee...

This is the off-topic/rant section of ATS, and so I feel that, if I wish to make my views known anywhere, this is probably the place.

lol, LOL, Lol, l.o.l - in all its forms, I despise it.

Laugh Out Loud, I believe, being its root, it belongs firmly in text messages sent between mobile 'phones - and within that category, in the text messages of absolute morons who can't be bothered to type the two extra letters of "funny", or even just extend the pointless abbreviation by a single letter to "haha".

When I first posted on ATS, I was pleased to see a notice asking posters not to use such "txt spk", and for a large part, this instruction is followed - not so, however, for lol. It seems to have transcended media and become firmly wedged into the minds of my generation, and it sickens me to the core. What is worse, of course, is that I find myself on the edge of typing it from time to time. Not only is this meme extremely irritating, then, it is self propogating and forces people to conform.

If people would just write "Wow, that was really funny, I actually laughed aloud and everyone stared at me", or "haha", et cetera, when they thought that something was funny, and end with that much less offensive (sic.) when they were indicating perhaps subtle humour on their part, I feel that the world would be a much better place.

I'm going to stop short of saying that we should kill everyone that uses it, however, because I remain hopeful that its power over its victims will die if we can only find and exterminate the original source. In all probability, it probably originated in a NASA lab where microsoft and the US government are using alien technology to test out mind control of the global population. If we don't stop lol now, we shall all become mindless government slave soldiers when they release their next super-meme (sic.).

That's about it. I feel a lot better, actually.

If anyone's response is "lol", I shall track them down and beat them to death with a teapot.

TheWill.

lol












JK


~meathead

reply to post by Mike Stivic


you, sir, shall die horribly. By teapot.

What I find much more annoying is the need to fit the word like into every sentence at least two or three times.

I was like soooo going to like do that thing we talked about like the other day. Lol.

rotflmao!
I know, right?!!
LOL is SOO freaking annoying imo.

incidently, it was announced the most annoying emote is:

(46%)

> (39%)

(8%)

:/ (6%)

(2%)

Source

brb afk

k, back.
Anyhow, about lol...I find it very annoying also. rotflmao

(ya...I will annoy you to death with that also...all about adding fuel to the insane fire..muahahaha. lol)

reply to post by TheWill


lololol. I will be waiting for u. lol

reply to post by SaturnFX


I can find one consolation in your "rotflmao"... at least, unlike many, you have included the definite article in your abbreviation.

I included an emoticon in a reply recently, and felt so disgusted with myself that I had to go back, find and edit it out. I still haven't recovered from my brush with the dark side...

reply to post by TheWill


Oh ye of the mighty teapot ... It's not a word, it's an acronym.

how many times when someone types 'lol' do you actually think that they indeed are on the other side of the keyboard actually laughing outloud in a room all by themselves with only their cat watching.
I wonder what the cat must think.

And this goes as well for people on their phones typing it in public. Now I know for sure they are not laughing outloud. Liars.

reply to post by schrodingers dog


happy?

reply to post by Namaste1001


Well, I like kind of despise the word like, like, but it's, like, a lot easier, like, than like saying something, like, straight off? Like, it gives you like, time to like think before you like say, like, something.

Point is, I concur, but I used to use that one unconsciously(and probably still do), so I can't have a go at people for it.

Originally posted by TheWill
reply to post by schrodingers dog

 

happy?

At the title edit? Yes
Generally? Mostly
Right now? lqtm

Let's try this one then....

LTMWSAACT.

Laughing to myself while sitting at a computer terminal.

All alone.

Awaiting a horrible demise.

Can one 'loathe out loud'?

reply to post by youdidntseeme

And this goes as well for people on their phones typing it in public. Now I know for sure they are not laughing outloud. Liars.

Yeah!

And they're damn sure not ROTFL!

reply to post by youdidntseeme


Not in a written message.

-Entered thread.
-Read OP.
-lol'd.
-Left thread.

reply to post by TheWill

I both agree and disagree with you. It depends on the circumstances.

What really appalled me was when I recently heard someone say "lol". Yes, he said "Ell o ell." That's really taking it a bit too far.

However, as for emoticons, I really see them from the perspective of some kind of language development. They're just symbols, after all. Sometimes they have their uses.

By the way, I see that you have "UK" as part of your location. Shouldn't that be "TUK", if we are to be pedantic about the correct use of the definite article?

I hope you appreciate I'm jesting. I would hate you to waste a good teapot on my cranium.

Best regards,

Mike

Clearly new emotes need to be made then for the great deception that is "lol".

How about:

SAS (slightly amused smirk)
SEFH (sharp exhale from humor)
VA (Visibly amused)

But the real chance of a LOL replacement may be:

DOS:
(drink on screen...aka, you actually laughed..loudly and suddenly...unfortunately you were also taking a sip of something, now said drink is sprayed all over your monitor)

"omg dude...that was too damn funny, it gave me a DOS attack!"

reply to post by SaturnFX

DOS: (drink on screen...aka, you actually laughed..loudly and suddenly...unfortunately you were also taking a sip of something, now said drink is sprayed all over your monitor)

Then there would be the DOSTN...

Drink on screen through nose.

reply to post by JustMike


I actually did laugh out loud at that one - fortunately, nobody else was present and so no embarrassment followed...

People who say "lol" aloud should be sentenced to extended periods of community service, unless they are physically incapable of laughing, or would be seriously harmed if they did so.

With the "the" thing, U.K. or UK is the accepted abbreviation, whereas - at least here in the UK, txt spkers that I frequently tend to miss the "t" on rofl. Still, I do take your point, I can't whine about everything.

reply to post by butcherguy


Rather worse, I feel - in terms of pain - than DOSTN is HBOSTN, or CBOSTN - Hot or Carbonated Beverage On Screen Through Nose. And somehow (is this sadistic of me?) such acronyms would not be quite so upsetting to me as lol.