Are you new to the Internet or to our message boards, or just want to brush up on your online lingo? To help we came up with a list of the most common abbreviations and symbols used by members in the Oprah.com Community to talk to each other.
Acronyms
There are a number of acronyms that you may use in lieu of complete sentences. Here are a few to try out:
- AKA: Also known as
- BTW: By the way
- CUL: See you later
- FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
- FWIW: For what it's worth
- FYA: For your amusement
- FYI: For your information
- GMTA: Great minds think alike
- GR&D: Grinning, running, and ducking
- HHOK: Ha ha, only kidding
- IAC: In any case
- IMO: In my opinion
- IMHO: In my humble opinion
- IMNSHO: In my not-so-humble opinion
- IMAO: In my arrogant opinion
- IOW: In other words
- LOL: Laughing out loud
- LMAO: Laughing my asterisk off
- NRN: No response necessary
- OTOH: On the other hand
- POV: Point of view
- RL: Real life
- ROFL: Rolling on the floor laughing
- TIA: Thanks in advance
- TTFN: Ta-ta for now
- TTYL: Talk to you later
- WB: Welcome back
- WTG: Way to go
Emoticons
To add a little pizzazz to your conversation, you can use symbols called emoticons to express yourself. You create the symbols by typing dashes, colons, semicolons, and a variety of other keystrokes that look like faces when you view them sideways.
These are some of the most popular emoticons:
- :) Smiling
- :-) Smiling, with a nose
- :-( Frowning
- >:-( Upset or annoyed
- : -D Laughing
- :-o Shouting
- :-O Shouting loudly
- :-* Puckering for a kiss
- :-x User's lips are sealed
- :-{ User has a moustache
- :-() Big mouth
- ;-) Winking
- 8-) Wearing glasses
- B-) Wearing cool shades
- @>--,--- A rose
- (-: User is left-handed
- :'-( User is crying
- :-@ User is screaming
A Friendly Reminder
Typing in all capital letters, except when using these acronyms is considered "shouting" online, plus it's a lot harder to read. We ask that members not type in all CAPS.
Printed from Oprah.com on Thursday, May 23, 2013
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