Acronyms

[to.by]

I really did not find a forum where this post clearly is at home, but since language is a social issue I try here.
It seems to me that a lot of the posters are lazy when it comes to typing and prefer using acronyms. I can appreciate that but I am lazy too, end I find it annoying to go around for day (sometimes) trying to puzzle out what some two or three letter acronym really means.
Is NO really a standard acronym for New Orleans? Or does it mean Not Observed or whatever, perhaps some obscure government organisation in the US of A?
Please avoid as much as possible or at least be very discriminating in using acronyms that are not standerd, such as LASER, RADAR, NATO and so forth.

[Mephisto]

I can sympathize with you fully, and surmised from your spelling that you're likely in the UK, right? Acronyms are a way of shortening commonly used phrases rather than taking the time and trouble to spell them out.

You're right that they can be confusing, but it's fairly easy to figure them out in context. In threads about floods, government inadequacy, incompetance, Michael Brown, or Homeland Security the acronym NO is probably New Orleans.

Of course, in other threads N.O. could be;

Nerdy Outlanders

National Orifice

Naugahyde Ottoman

Nasty Olaf

Nukular Options

Ninja Organization

Nutty Oompaloomps

:) BTW, F U cn jst sound em out, you'll figure em out PDQ. *LOL*

[Snide]

Acronyms in the tech field have always bugged me because when hiring newbies, they often don't know Internet Protocal from Intellectual Property. Then after a couple months of training people, they'd b!tch that so-and-so "isn't catching on." I'd say, gee I wonder why, could it be because day one you showed him the DASD without telling him what the he11 it is??

I was going to add to bigred's thread about hiring people and say how some of the most technically skilled people are are only of average value as emplolyees, and furthermore make the absolute worst managers, but this seems to be a better place for it. :)


(Yes, "DASD" dates me...oh well)
(Oh, and I really don't hate acronyms, just please have the courtesy of syaing/spelling the whole term the first time it comes out of your mouth when talking to some people who may not quite yet follow...thanks :) )

[bob_kark]

Actually, NOLA is the acronym for New Orleans. However, most people on the board use NO. I used to live there, so I feel compelled to point it out.

[JamesDillon]

Is it that hard to just write "New Orleans"?

Acronyms are a way of shortening commonly used phrases rather than taking the time and trouble to spell them out.

Is that a justification? How difficult is it to write out a few extra letters for the sake of clarity? Acronyms are something of a pet peeve of mine.

[Evolver]

Sometimes NO just means no.

[Mephisto]

Acronyms in the tech field have always bugged me because when hiring newbies, they often don't know Internet Protocal from Intellectual Property. Then after a couple months of training people, they'd b!tch that so-and-so "isn't catching on." I'd say, gee I wonder why, could it be because day one you showed him the DASD without telling him what the he11 it is??

As an ex-techical writer for a defense contractor, I can heartily testify to the tendency to somehow confuse a large acronym vocabulary for intelligence, especially in a military atmosphere. Very few people could make any sense out of the statement, "I used to work at WMSR with MLRS & ATACMS, writing SOPs for the DOD, but frequently did work for the M1 and LOSAT," but many who could would become visibly irritated when I stopped them constantly to clarify something.

That sentence makes perfect sense to some people (kmortis is one) who would know immediately what type of work I did, where I worked, and the people I work with at that location. Needles to say :), the first thing we did when hired to help with documentation and presentation materials was to write a glossary.

Regarding the OP, I'm often confused by some of the acroynyms I've seen in the forums here, and if I'm interested enough, I'll either run a search or simply PM the member making the reference. Most everyone is pretty nice here.

[Hutch]

I agree with your comments on NO or even NOLA, as being confusing and not part of the normal lexicon. But I admit to being confused about the following:

Please avoid as much as possible or at least be very discriminating in using acronyms that are not standard, such as LASER, RADAR, NATO and so forth.

To me, those look like very common and well-accepted acronyms that most everybody knows and understands. I'm not ever sure I could write out what LASER stands for (I'm sure somebody here will enlighten me).

So while I concur that uncommon or local terms should be spelled out (or at least at the start of your message, show it and then paren the acronym), using common, worldwide terms as you show above should be allowed and in fact encouraged.

Edited to add-I got 5 of 6 of Mephisto's acronyms--After all, I deal with PEO's and PM's at AMCOM for DSCA all the time..

[TragicMonkey]

I've always loved Navy acronyms. CINCLANT...yeah, in reference to a fleet of ships, you really want to use the sound "sink".

[bob_kark]

I'm not ever sure I could write out what LASER stands for (I'm sure somebody here will enlighten me).

Well, since you asked... Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

[Mephisto]

Is it that hard to just write "New Orleans"?



Is that a justification? How difficult is it to write out a few extra letters for the sake of clarity? Acronyms are something of a pet peeve of mine.

I'm in perfect agreement with you about acroynyms, but excited rocket scientists and engineers find it easier to say (or write) LOSAT than Line Of Sight, Anti-Tank each and every time they refer to a certain weapon system. :) That was originally why they hired technical writers in the first place. I've found that most excited (or angry) rocket scientists don't speak any better English than most excited illegal immigrants. ;)

[Evolver]

In the computer industry, it's sometimes mush too difficult to remember the long name of each device, like PCMCIA (People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms)

[Mephisto]

Edited to add-I got 5 of 6 of Mephisto's acronyms--After all, I deal with PEO's and PM's at AMCOM for DSCA all the time..

*knocking myself upside the head* . . . oh yeah, and Hutch! :)

I once did a short satirical rant among engineers using acronyms at ARMTE (now MTD-MT) and found that the joke flew over everyone's head as they were intently listening to the string of letters trying to mentally digest what I was saying. They generally weren't amused when I let them in on the joke. The few young ones that sat to the side snickering were (and are) good friends though. :)

[Mephisto]

I've always loved Navy acronyms. CINCLANT...yeah, in reference to a fleet of ships, you really want to use the sound "sink".

Ah, the irony of military acronyms. I should start a thread about military logos: The Missile As Phallus. :)

[JamesDillon]

I'm in perfect agreement with you about acroynyms, but excited rocket scientists and engineers find it easier to say (or write) LOSAT than Line Of Sight, Anti-Tank each and every time they refer to a certain weapon system. :) That was originally why they hired technical writers in the first place. I've found that most excited (or angry) rocket scientists don't speak any better English than most excited illegal immigrants. ;)

Your point is well taken, but I think there's a distinction between technical jargon and Internet slang; I was referring mostly to the latter. I wouldn't expect a biologist to write out "deoxyribonucleic acid" 50 times in a technical paper; it's the "IMHO" and "NO" and "IIRC" (what does that even mean?) that get to me. I would also add that if you're going to use a technical acronym with an audience of non-experts (such as this forum), it's usually a good idea to spell it out at least once without assuming that people know what you mean. (Not accusing you of doing that, just speaking generally).

[Charlie Monoxide]

I've always had a pet peeve regarding acronyms and initials (non-acronyms). I've felt that only elitists talking to other elitists have the penchant for tossing around acronyms and such. I've worked in the computer industry (IT) since 1980. I've written countless documents and I always qualify the first instance of an acronymn or initials in most stuff that I write that I feel will be read by non-technical people.

For the 15 years I've worked mostly doing contracts. One of the first "cheat sheets" I create for myself is a list of acronyms used by that client.

Charlie (FUBAR in IT) Monoxide

[bob_kark]

"IIRC" (what does that even mean?)

If I Recall Correctly. I'm still trying to figure out AFAIK though...

[Joe Random]

If I Recall Correctly. I'm still trying to figure out AFAIK though...

As Far As I Know

[jj]

To me, those look like very common and well-accepted acronyms that most everybody knows and understands. I'm not ever sure I could write out what LASER stands for (I'm sure somebody here will enlighten me).


Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation


So while I concur that uncommon or local terms should be spelled out (or at least at the start of your message, show it and then paren the acronym), using common, worldwide terms as you show above should be allowed and in fact encouraged.

Edited to add-I got 5 of 6 of Mephisto's acronyms--After all, I deal with PEO's and PM's at AMCOM for DSCA all the time.. Just as long as your JTIDS are all in a row, that's fine.

[Hazen]

This is a fairly handy place to look if you get stumped:
http://www.learnthenet.com/english/index.html

[jj]

This is a fairly handy place to look if you get stumped:
http://www.learnthenet.com/english/index.html


It didn't know the first four I typed into it. :(

[Mephisto]

This is a fairly handy place to look if you get stumped:
http://www.learnthenet.com/english/index.html

Hey Hazen! TARCAYHT! (or, that's a really cool avatar you have there). :)

Oh and BTW, WTTF (and by the way, welcome to the forum).

[Snide]

One year there was a softball team up in here in Minnesota that named themselves IITYWIMWYBMAB.

If I tell you what it means, will you buy me a beer?

[jj]

One year there was a softball team up in here in Minnesota that named themselves IITYWIMWYBMAB.

If I tell you what it means, will you buy me a beer?

Exactly. :D

[to.by]

I se that I did not express myself clearly enough. What I ment was that terms like RADAR, LASER and suchlike are so well integrated into the language that avoiding them are a waste of time. What I would like to see, is less of the nonstandard acronyms.

By the way, I'm Norwegian, not British.

[richardm]

What I would like to see, is less of the nonstandard acronyms.
I sA, U must rly h8 d nu txtN lngwij dat iz BcumN so populR.

(edited 2 +: yyssw, I knO theyre not acronyms. bt hA.)

[Ladewig]

Some are very thread specific.

For some reason I really prefer ADC, JE, JvP, and SB to after-death communicators, John Edward, James VanPraag and Sylvia Brown.

If there are acronyms that you cannot deduce, then simply ask.

[Kerberos]

Your point is well taken, but I think there's a distinction between technical jargon and Internet slang; I was referring mostly to the latter. I wouldn't expect a biologist to write out "deoxyribonucleic acid" 50 times in a technical paper;
Also IMHO *Ouch, stop hitting me* far more people would understand "DNA" than "deoxyribonucleic acid".

[Mephisto]

Also IMHO *Ouch, stop hitting me* far more people would understand "DNA" than "deoxyribonucleic acid".

Or SCUBA instead of Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus - Still I agree to a point with the OP. Sometimes it does take awhile to determine WTF is being said. :)

[Snide]

After the day I'm having, all I can say is TFSMIF!!

[Tanja]

By the way, any www.fark.com readers here? They hive tags to all the listed articles, such as "obvious", "spiffy" "Florida" etc. One of the tags is "PSA". Anyone knows what it stands for?

[Snide]

By the way, any www.fark.com readers here? They hive tags to all the listed articles, such as "obvious", "spiffy" "Florida" etc. One of the tags is "PSA". Anyone knows what it stands for?Public Service Announcement?

[Hazen]

Hey Hazen! TARCAYHT! (or, that's a really cool avatar you have there). :)

Oh and BTW, WTTF (and by the way, welcome to the forum).

Thanks for the welcome.
As for the avatar, actually I nicked it.
I imagine if anyone in the know was aware, I'd probably get slammed for copyright violation. It's an album cover from Uriah Heeps' "Abominog" album.
One of my favourites from my very metal phase years ago.....

[Beerina]

Actually, NOLA is the acronym for New Orleans. However, most people on the board use NO. I used to live there, so I feel compelled to point it out.

Damn, a shrimp po'boy and a cup of gumbo from that little restaraunt on Bourbon street, with the awning and rails right across from the little voodoo shop would go down real nice right now. Best gumbo I've found down there, and that includes most of the snotty restaraunts.