Please, Please, Please, ...Do Not Use Abbreviations or Terms Most of Us.. DO NOT KNOW...

[Stuart G]

Last edited Sat Mar 20, 2021, 09:56 PM - Edit history (2)

...i saw an abbreviation for .."VCU"....I don't know..so I had to look it up...(Virginia Commonwealth University)

Often there are terms and abbreviations we have to look up, and sometimes we ignore them and don't
understand the post...This happens often and it slows us down. I don't know what to say, but it happens
so often...(and I guess I do it too???)... that this upsets me. Yes, I am upset very easily, but that is me,
and I know that I am not the only one.. How do I know?...This has been posted before a few times, and my guess is, that it will be posted again.. Thank You for reading this.

[underpants]

1. Sorry VCU grad here

Guilty as charged.

[leftieNanner]

2. So sad about the NCAA tournament for them.

And those kids had a huge opportunity to play basketball on a big stage.

[underpants]

4. Yeah. It's a long haul for anyone to go through

to just end without getting on the floor.

[DBoon]

63. VCU is the abbreviation for the veterinary clinic where I took my dog to be "fixed"

I hope you feel OK now - no soreness

[underpants]

85. 😆

🤪

[USALiberal]

3. I just google them, like 15 seconds! Nt

[LakeArenal]

27. It was googled. That's a pain, too.

[Blue_true]

30. So, the person drops out of DU to Google? How about not using an abbreviation to start with? nt

[USALiberal]

36. Drops out???? lol

[Voltaire2]

113. I only haz one tab.

[DBoon]

41. They original author could have Googled them too, and put the result in the OP

instead of wasting the time of many readers who each had to search the result using their favorite search engine (which should not be Google if you care about privacy)

If it's that easy, then why not expect the OP to includes the info?

[USALiberal]

46. Silly! Nt

[masmdu]

48. Sorry, what's "OP" mean?

And I know what you don't know how?

[DBoon]

54. sorry - Original Post

The post that starts the discussion

[masmdu]

57. Really..................................ok.

[DBoon]

58. No not really

It stands for "Orange Possum" and is a code phrase known to only the innermost circle of Democratic Underground.

If I told you the meaning of Orange Possum I would be disclosing sensitive information. You would see my user avatar replaced with a tomb stone.

It is that serious.

[masmdu]

61. Thanks for the laugh!

(no abbreviations to make easier for everyone)

[masmdu]

49. Sorry, what does "NT" mean?

[USALiberal]

50. No text, subject text only. Nt

[masmdu]

53. .... (Too subtle)?

[orleans]

100. i've always viewed nt or n/t as a courtesy

because when i see i have a reply from someone (from clicking on the "my posts" tab) to something i've written i do not have to click on their link to read more when their first line ends with a n/t or nt or even an eom (end of message)--it tells me there is no more text to read.

[Deuxcents]

5. I hear ya

I’m trying to keep up with this digital vocabulary..or whatever they call it. At times, I think it takes away from the point trying to be made b/c I’m focused on the abbreviation. JMO...see?!

[Blue_true]

31. The Urban dictionary.

Some people love to throw out “go to the urban dictionary”, like writing that makes them look cool.

[masmdu]

51. Sorry, what does "b/c" mean?

And I know what you don't know how?

[orleans]

103. b/c because. n/t

[ancianita]

126. It's an old notetaking abbreviation like w/o, which means 'without.'

When I taught notetakg to my English students I always threw in a long list of time-saving abbrevs to help them get more content more accurately & fast.

Abbreviations for commonly used wds is part of four methods of good notetaking. One shouldn't abbrev just anything, and definitely they shouldn't abbreviate complicated wds like 'phenomenology,' but they shld often abbreviate commonly used words like st. ave, hwy, bk, blk, col, tot, add'l, coll, cty, and they'll understand them later dependg on the context.

[Ocelot II]

6. How can we know that most people don't know certain abbreviations?

When I run across an unfamiliar one I just google it - no big deal, just takes a couple of minutes. But I don't know whether or not other people don't know something.

[Kaleva]

8. LMGTFY

[Ocelot II]

9. Had to GTFMS.

[USALiberal]

12. +1000! Nt

[DBoon]

37. CBGB/OMFUG!

[Voltaire2]

105. OMFG YOMANKB

[Goonch]

7. LSMFT (Sung By Rochester)

[Stuart G]

33. Wonderful Post...Rochester is great...I had never seen him dance before...K and R..no text

[oasis]

72. Rochester and Don Wilson team up for a dance routine. Priceless!

thanks for the treat.

[RockRaven]

10. I clicked on the link to an ESPN article in one of the posts just to find out, b/c I wasn't sure...

AND IN THE ENTIRE F-ING ARTICLE they didn't once use the university's name. So I still didn't know, and refused to waste any more time checking.

Hey did, however, refer to them as the Rams once. You know, to mix things up, to break up the awkward repetitive mess of VCU, VCU, VCU in every sentence. If only there had been another way to mix things up.


So I for one am grateful for your post, now I've been reminded what VCU means.

[underpants]

13. That's funny. They must assume everyone knows what VCU is

That was my thread by the way.

[Demovictory9]

16. what is vcu? Virginia xxxxx university?

[underpants]

20. Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

In the middle of the city.

It Christopher Newport and Old Dominion were offshoots of William& Mary.
VCU has the #1 arts school in the country. Good business school too.

[masmdu]

55. Sorry, what does "ESPN" mean?

[obamanut2012]

86. Lol

[canetoad]

80. If memory serves

The convention is, at first usage the complete, appropriately capitalised name is used with the acronym following in brackets. Then afterwards the acronym alone can be used.

[Beringia]

11. Being polite seems to be below some people

[USALiberal]

14. Simple Google searches are beyond some people too I guess. Nt

[Kaleva]

15. STFU!

[mobeau69]

18. LOL

[Beringia]

89. WHTEVDOOD

[msfiddlestix]

17. I agree, and I also see names of people or towns with no reference to state or country

I have a feeling it's about text from a phone?

[sheshe2]

23. Boston.

[wnylib]

76. But WHICH Boston?

The UK Boston or the MA USA Boston?

[sheshe2]

78. You decide.

[MoonlitKnight]

19. OK

[Aristus]

21. OMFG!

[sheshe2]

24. IKR

[Aristus]

40. Hey!

RUOK?

[sheshe2]

43. IOKUOK?

[Aristus]

45. SIMOK.

NQ!

[sheshe2]

52. Lol!

[NBachers]

22. I list this one right after no-context posts: THAT'S TELLING THEM!! GO TURN ON RACHEL RIGHT NOW!!1!

[Raine]

25. Thank You! 👍 nt

[masmdu]

59. Sorry, what does"NT" mean?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

69. NT means no text.

The poster isn't saying anything besides the title.

A long time ago, in an earlier version of DU, it was needed or the site would pitch a fit. It hasn't been needed for years, but a lot of people here don't know that.

[masmdu]

71. ..... too subtle, I guess ....

[Hugh_Lebowski]

81. All due respect, that is not why people put NT in the subject line

If you get a notification that your post has been responded to, the "My Posts" tab highlights at the top of the page.

When you click that tab, you see the subject line of your posts, and you can click one, and you'll see the replies ... also just the subject line.

If someone puts NT in THEIR subject line, then you know you don't have to click on their reply from the My Posts summary screen, because you can see their whole reply right there.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

93. To be honest, in all my years here on DU (and I started in 2002 or so under a different name)

I have never understood NT to be used that way. I do know that early on, without it you couldn't post something that had no text in the body of the message, where I currently am.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

95. Also, whenever you're looking at a rolled up view of a thread

Such that all there are are subject lines (when you have to click view all to see all the message bodies, or click individual subject lines in the list to view the body of each message?)

It's a courtesy to show others they need not click on your particular message because you've said all you have to say in the subject.

So ... I suppose that after all this time ... now you understand

I recall the times you mean, but I don't see people putting NT in the body anymore. Once in a very very great while. People put it in the subject line all the time, but for a different reason ... as a courtesy to others.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

98. Somehow I missed that.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

102. Somehow you missed that (nt) I think you meant ;) (nt)

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

122. Right.

I only knew its early usage and never thought of it as meaning you don't need to click on the particular posting. Not that scrolling through the postings is that onerous or time consuming for me.

[orleans]

107. omg--i wrote pretty much the same thing upthread when that poster

asked what nt meant.
(hadn't gotten this far in the thread so i didn't see your post yet)

[Hugh_Lebowski]

109. GMTA :) (nt)

[intrepidity]

120. I rely heavily on posters putting "nt" in the post title

when no text appears in the body box, for the two reasons posted in this subthread. It's very irksome when I cluck on or expand a post only to find no more text. fyi. ymmv.

[Lord Ludd]

26. My first thought was that VCU stood for

Viet Cong Underground, but I mostly live in the past.

AFAIK, YMMV.

[TlalocW]

28. np

Definitely shouldn't be SOP.

TlalocW

[Blue_true]

29. Honestly, I view it as silly to use a term that others may not understand,

without adding a few quick worlds of explanation. I got into a heated discussion with a group of people after one DU member used a sexual term that he thought was clever, but which I had never heard of, a request from me to the person to explain the term triggered a couple insults that I could not ignore.

The people that tick me off the most are the ones that love to use “Google is your friend” or “look in the urban dictionary” “or something similar phrase when a person asks what a word or phrase means - honestly, it would be better to not even fucking bother to answer if it can’t be done without a putdown.

People that want to be understood will use words and phrases that pretty much everyone understands, the rest maybe need to look into their estimate of themselves.

[DBoon]

39. by the way, the Urban Dictionary is blocked at many work locations

I've tried accessing it at several different jobs and always got a landing page telling me company policies forbid accessing this site.

And Google is notorious for keeping records of your searches and using them to "suggest" other marketing opportunities. We should not encourage people to unnecessarily use Google for searches.

[Blue_true]

42. Good observations. nt

[USALiberal]

97. YOU DON'T NEED THAT SITE...........

Google "what does vcu stand for"

[Voltaire2]

106. the google is hard.

[masmdu]

65. Sorry, what does "DU" mean?

[Blue_true]

70. The "Democratic Underground", this site. nt

[masmdu]

73. Oh, I see.... abbreviations are hard.

[Blue_true]

74. It is easy enough to fall into the trap of using them.

But when a person that is unfamiliar with them asks for clarification, that clarification should be given promptly and without insult.

[masmdu]

77. Agreed, if asked. Apriori Abbreviation Prohibition seem

Silly. How can a poster know what a potential reader of a post knows or doesn't know?

[Blue_true]

129. Your last sentence hits the issue on it's head. We often make too many assumptions. nt

[madinmaryland]

32. Lighten up, Francis! A quick google search is your friend!

Have a good evening!

[sarcasmo]

34. FUBAR

[Stuart G]

38. I had to look up ...FUBAR.....It ain't pretty.........So here it is:

....F*cked up beyond all recognition

_________________________________________________________________________________________
FUBAR stands for “F*cked up beyond all recognition,” SNAFU is “Situation normal, all f*cked up,”

and TARFU is “Things are really f*cked up.” FUBAR and SNAFU have made it into the civilian lexicon, though the F-word in each is often changed to “fouled” to keep from offending listeners

________________________________________________________________________________________

[sarcasmo]

92. We used it quite often in the military.

[Voltaire2]

104. what does "F*cked" mean?

also Kilroy wants his FUBAR back.

That shit goes back to WWII.

[littlemissmartypants]

35. Here we go again.

[masmdu]

44. And I know what you don't know how?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

47. More than once I've googled some abbreviation here,

and the first ten possibilities are pretty obviously not what the poster meant.

I was stymied by VCU also. People who aren't glued to the TV watching the tournament are mostly not going to know what it stands for. Just type out the full name the first time, then use the abbreviation in the rest of the post.

[Stuart G]

56. This one, post 47, makes a whole lot of sense...I agree completely...& I have googled

some abbreviations and look at possibilities and still don't know...oh well....time to hide.......



It seems like I have opened a whole lot of hornets nests...!!!!

And in case you do not know what hornets nests are, here is a link:

https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=hornets+nests&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS494US495&q=hornets+nests&gs_l=hp..0.0j0i457j0l3.0.0.0.3378006...........0.VEQvfU1VowU#spf=1616296210193

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

62. Hornets nests, yes!

When I first moved into the home I currently live in, a nest was quickly build above my front door. I was terrified it was a hornet's nest. Fortunately, is was birds that built it. Whew!

[Voltaire2]

108. what does '47' mean?

[DBoon]

60. In every place I've worked this is standard for written communication

Even if YOU think the abbreviation is obvious, not every reader does.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

64. So true.

I actually learned that lesson in my very first job, when I was using an abbreviation to someone who did not work there. A supervisor gently pointed out that the person would have no way of knowing what I meant. I've never forgotten that, and rarely use an abbreviation unless I already know the other person knows it.

[masmdu]

67. Sorry, what does"TV" mean?

[Treefrog]

119. I have to say I've enjoyed your attempts here, that were either ignored or totally went over heads.

I suspect the latter. But what does masmdu mean?

[masmdu]

127. Thanks.masmduthe first 2 letters of my first name, the first to letters of my second name, and then

DU. That's just the format I use to create my user name for whatever service I use.

[iemanja]

66. Standard, grammatically correct practice

is to define an acronym on its first appearance. Then they can use it throughout the rest of the post.

[BobTheSubgenius]

68. I can see your point, and I agree, to an extent.

But, at one time, every acronym was new. A friend of mine was married to an incredibly jealous woman, and she took "LOL" on a post directed at him to mean "Lots Of Love" and flipped out.

I suppose each one has to be taken on individual merit, and the poster will have to make a judgment call as to how familiar, or how intuitive it is. Waddya gonna do?

[ancianita]

75. K & R! Fully type out a first reference, then use the acronym on the second, which

saves excuse making.


Because of Rule #1 of communication: it's not the audience's job to figure out what you mean.

So no, people shouldn't have to look up your acronyms. Stuart G is not only right, he's fair to ask that you be considerate of your audience. If not, you won't get read.

Example:

In 2015, the onslaught of legislative acronyms inspired the Accountability and Congressional Responsibility On Naming Your Motions Act. If it hadn’t been an April Fools joke, the ACRONYM Act could have made writing about legislation much duller for easily amused people like me.

https://www.bkacontent.com/primer-ap-style-rule-acronyms/

[masmdu]

79. Sorry, what does "K & R " mean?

[ancianita]

91. None of textspeak follows style manuals' rule on full first reference. What you want is a glossary.

Of course, if you're trying to point out the flaw in the style manual, your point shows what you don't know.

Textspeak and internal site usages are at idomatic levels of communications. They're meant for small self-defined, clubby audiences and not general audiences; thus, textspeak across cultures isn't standardized for broad audiences the way style manuals are. Why? Because the international agreement long ago is that English would be the worldwide language standard for science communications (it's also the lingua franca for many countries for business and other reasons).

Sorry, FWIW, there used to be a glossary for DU. But maybe now it's in the "community help" section.

TFW you don't find a general textspeak glossary there and you're like WTF. FTW here's one:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_textspeak

[Voltaire2]

101. IKR nt.

[TexasTowelie]

82. I know that about a week ago I used VCU in a thread title and today I used EWU

(Eastern Washington University) in the title of a thread. However, I believe that those were posted in the state groups so it should have been relatively easy to determine what I was referring to and the full name appeared in the body of the OP. I also realize that there are times when I used UW, but if it is posted in a state group it should be clear as to whether I'm referring to the University of Washington, Wisconsin, or Wyoming. The same would apply to UT--which could stand for the University of Tennessee, the University of Texas, or the state of Utah.

Although LBN is supposed to exact titles, I do try to identify where the place is by putting a description after the title of a thread if it uses something ambiguous terms like what I mentioned above or when the title has the words "state" or "city" as a courtesy to others. However, since there are limitations as to the number of characters in the subject line of threads it may require the use of abbreviations if there are other words in the title that are more important.

As a courtesy, I usually try to identify the media site in my link if it is not apparent in the URL.

[Bucky]

83. TFW you find out that's SOP in these confines. YMMV

TTFN

[Kablooie]

84. LBJ took the IRT Down to 4th Street USA

Lbj irt
Usa lsd

Lsd lbj
Fbi cia

Fbi cia
Lsd lbj

[KG]

87. IKR? WTF! LOL!

[Tarc]

88. IDGAF

[demmiblue]

94. NDI. n/t

[MineralMan]

90. That's good advice, but it will not be followed here on DU.

I assume whoever used that acronym was writing about the NCAA basketball tournament. Since I don't follow college basketball at all, I wouldn't have gone into the thread.

People should spell out such things when they first appear in a post, but they don't. No amount of pleading will get some people to be mindful of others, I'm afraid.

That's why I keep am empty tab open in my browser to use for searching for things. That, of course, doesn't work when I'm on my phone, but I don't do a lot of web browsing on my phone anyhow.

[Voltaire2]

110. what does NCAA mean?

[DFW]

118. Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority n/t

[Voltaire2]

130. I knew that!

[Jersey Devil]

96. MDBK

Otherwise NHG

[Voltaire2]

99. ALso: GOML;OKB;

[Voltaire2]

111. what does 'WAP' mean?

[demmiblue]

112. Ben Shapiro wouldn't know. n/t

[Voltaire2]

114. BSWK NT

[progressoid]

121. White Angry Priests.

Wondering Around Publix

Warm Apple Pie


Weird Al Polka


Wipes Ass Properly

[Voltaire2]

123. Whining About Posts?

[SYFROYH]

115. Ok

[DFW]

116. Allan Sherman addressed this issue in detail in 1963.

I was told about it in confidence by a КГБ agent who had studied at МГУ.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

117. I like the ones that are deceptive, or have multiple meanings. "PBO", for example, ...

... could mean "lead oxide", but is sometimes used to name "BHO" who used to be president. I guess the "H" was just too scary. I've even see "PJB" used to name "JRB", our current president (according to most of us).

"BLM", of course, means "Bureau of Land Management".

"NRA", as we all know, means "National Recovery Administration", or, to a few insiders, "National Restaurant Association".

Locally, to me, "DDR" means "Detroit Dog Rescue", though to most it identifies the old East Germany.

[intrepidity]

124. Or, help build a DU glossary/thread of acronyms

See here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/125618315

[mopinko]

125. i find if you ask politely, ppl will gladly tell you.

grow. learn. it wont kill you.

welcome to the living language.

[HelpImSurrounded]

128. How will I know?

How will I know if "most people" know or don't know?

There are 330 million people in the US they represent a multitude of cultures. Even supposedly homogeneous white culture can vary with a mere 100 miles difference.

This is typically what I expect from isolated, small town conservatives who think they represent "most people" I the US. Isn't the internet great? It allows us to experience and connect with cultures we'd never encounter in the physical world.

Google is your friend. Wikipedia is your friend. The Urban Dictionary is your friend.