Okay, since I am working lots of overtime right now and don’t have time for a thoughtful post, I am simply spilling something out of my brain that has troubled me (in a minor key) for some time:
Does anyone else find the acronyms for online laughter less than satisfying?
I’m talking about things like LOL and ROTFL.
I didn’t even know what they meant at first. But finding out really didn’t help much. I still can’t derive much pleasure from saying something stupid or ironic and getting an e-mail or a comment back that says “LOL.” For me, nothing equals the immediate, in-the-flesh response of one person to another.
Whenever I see LOL, I feel instead that I have really received only a CC (Courtesy Chuckle), or a SICFAMOEOMM (Sorry, I Couldn’t Formulate A More Original Expression Of My Mirth)… even though I know that is not what is intended.
I guess this is one of the trials of cyberhumor…
By the way, I am embarrassingly illiterate about these acronyms, and have never had the courage to ask what they all mean. I figured out LOL and ROTFL through contextual studies. But if you could enlighten me about some others, I’d appreciate it. Otherwise, I’ll just have to sneak into a library somewhere and furtively look them up myself…
I think you’re absolutely right. Whenever I’m on AIM and someone just says “lol,” I’m always at a loss for what to reply because it seems such a non-response. I usually just end up waiting for them to actually take the time and respond to what I said. “LOL” is short for “yeah whatever.”
Check out Acronym Finder, at http://www.acronymfinder.comI’ve usually found the meaning I’m looking for there, plus lots of others I had no idea existed. It’s great for business-speak, too.KWYM about the acronyms for laughter. They bug me so much I almost never use them. I do like SICFAMOEOMM, though.
Thanks, Sara-Beth! I knew there was a resource out there for me.