I don't know your acronyms!

I would greatly appreciate it if people would start spelling out the names of the organizations they speak of the first time they are mentioned. Then, go crazy with the acronyms. Ninety-nine percent of the time I have no idea what your acronyms mean, no clue what each letter stands for.

I will scan two pages of a thread looking to see if someone else has spelled out your acronym before seeking answers elsewhere. The two dictionaries I have quick access to on my computer also have no idea what your acronyms mean. I go to Google, which is like, "Hey, this is pulling up a lot of possibilities and it's hard to pinpoint what exactly that acronym means." Ultimately I'm forced to go into some acronym database only to come out understanding that your acronym officially has several different meanings. I then return to the text to see which definition fits the context.

I realize that on a grand scale, me not knowing your acronyms is the least of the world's problems. I just have a penchant for clear, smooth reading and dream about a world in which acronyms stand for words previously mentioned.

You only live once.

YOLO

Thank you for listening to my rant.

TY4LTMR

Spell it out just once.

SIOJO

reply to post by TruthLover557


S&F I agree completely. Many of the Acronyms used are country specific, specific to a political party or specific to a topic.

If you dare to try and make people aware of the problem you can be set upon as a troll trying to derail a thread.

Not everyone in the world knows (or cares to know) that TN means TENNESSEE. If the rest of us (you know, the rest of the planet) did this, many would complain. SA can mean South Africa or South Australia.

Not to mention the Government / Religious/ scientific / biological / weapons / avionics / alien ..............................

It would be nice if they were explained once when first used.

Perhaps the powers that be could make a rule about it. Mods?

P

reply to post by TruthLover557


most acronyms are pretty obvious in the context of the post - there may be 127 acronyms resolving to NSA , but the thread context SHOULD make it clear weather the member is referring to the national security agency , or the national scrabble association [ yes the national scrabble association is a bona fide group ]

reply to post by TruthLover557


~ (short for rant)

JAAI

I think that acronyms started to become popular before being used to shorten text in electronic communications. A lot of T.V. shows and businesses shortened their names to acronyms for product branding.

I believe it is the militarization of our speech due to the ever present war or police actions of our government. The army is notorious for using acronyms and it was rubbing off before texting LOL, OMG, BFF, etc.

STFU - Steady The Flimsy Umbrellas

WTF - Where's The Fridge

LMAO - Look Ma, Another Octopus

PMSL - Politically Motivated Slanderous Libel

YMMV - You're Mighty Mighty Valiant

AFAIK - All Fairies Always Impart Knowledge

LOL - Let's Ogle Ladies

reply to post by TruthLover557


I find it ironic that after three decades in the military and speaking in acronyms, that I now find myself out in the world...speaking in acronyms. I hate it as well.

I've given up on threads due to this. You go to search for its meaning and nothing fits. I've even had it happen with moderators explaining rules. If nothing in the acronym dictionary fits it can't be that common. At minimum - provide a link that provides more info.

While my writing isn't always smooth and easy to read I try to think of it from a readers point of view - asking myself, "will the average person understand what I'm saying". It's about perspective. I've had the lack of perspective thing happen with websites or help pages too - IE: your flash player is not working and someone sends you a you tube video to show how to get it working, or you call the internet people due to it being down and they tell you to log onto their site to report your problem. I have dozens of examples of miscommunications over electronic mediums.

The best weapon you have is Urban dictionary. I'm not a native English speaker and sometimes I come across this acronyms, and urban dictionary defines them all. GL! (good Luck)

reply to post by TruthLover557


YES!

Its totally annoying trying to figure out what the hell people are talking about sometimes.

This was supposed to be the subject of my first thread but I dont seem to have permission to post anywhere execpt in introductions.

My hat of to you, good sir!
This rant is way overdue!

Big like

Regards,

reply to post by eirgud


I am a lady, good sir, but you are most welcome.

Would someone be able to tell me what "ETA" is?

I thought it was "Estimated Time to Arrival" - but some people have used it in a different context and, well, it makes no sense.

reply to post by gspat



Everyone Tickles Alligators



ETA:

I doubt if many ATS members even know what an acronym is....

This double post thing is getting annoying...

or

Tdptiga

Saw someone with a Yolo shirt on, he jay walked in front of me when I was going to work.

I wanted to hit him with my Truck to prove his opinion correct.

reply to post by blupblup


That was funny! I want to make a thread fully devoted to posting random translations of the acronyms we can't figure out.

YOLO-- You're Only Lord Once
FTW-- F*** The What
SMH-- Shave Mr. Hairy

As a request to others I think this is a fine idea. As a call for a new "rule," I think it sucks. Don't we have enough rules in this world? That's how government grows. Every time someone doesn't like something they say, "They're ought to be a law!" and then there is.

NO MORE RULES! If you can't figure something out on your own, DON'T ask government to do it for you. Embark on a quest to learn something new, but don't just sit there and ask to be spoon fed just because you don't know something.

YMMV.