scumofsociety:
Perfectly acceptable shorthand. Although I have to admit I still don't know what 'WOOT' means.

Woot mean, at least to my knowlege. "We Own the Other Team"

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.76094#891026

It's threads like this that make me loose hope from my former shelter from text speak.

runtheplacered:

Ex_ery:

While i will agree simply using acronyms is not a sign of idiocy, the rampant use of "LOL" and "OMG" in everyday conversations I overhear on even a college campus makes me worry about the future.

How is this any different then the rampant use of "dude" or "far out, man" or some other iconic term from some random decade? Humans know more things now then ever before in the history of humans. I'm not too worried if some weirdo with an ipod strapped to his heart and a cappuccino clenched in his fist goes around spouting off nonsensical acronym's. He'd hardly be a fine representation of what humanity has to offer.

Don't misunderstand, I cannot stand the use of "Dude" or "Brah" and other such fads either, but I also understand where you're coming from. Perhaps i should rephrase my "worried about the future" to => "frankly I almost want to thank people who approach me using any/all of the following: etiquette, politeness, grammar, eye-contact."

The Iron Ninja:

runtheplacered:
Why is that a decrease in intelligence if someone uses an acronym? Are people at NASA morons for not saying National Aeronautics and Space Administration every single time?

No.
Quite simply because "Laugh out loud" is much quicker to say than "National Aeronautics and Space Administration"
I

Oh, so now it's about the length of time it takes to say something. Now I have to calculate everything I say in terms of seconds and hope I don't go over the mark? Anyone saying "LOL" is saying it in a casual manner, in a casual conversation. I can't imagine being so uptight that that alone is what bothers you. Now, I would agree that in a conversation where "LOL" is used, it's usually followed up by a less then stimulating conversation. That by itself is reason enough for me to ignore whatever else the poster has to say. But it's not the "LOL" itself that gets me. I just don't care about acronym's, and hell, I hardly ever use any myself and I still don't care.

But, I can't fault you for disliking something for reasons that are a little sensational. For instance, I can't stand watching most people eat corn on the cob. I hate the way the butter rolls down their chin. Do I have a good reason for that? Not in the least. It's just a weird pet peeve and I understand this. Your hatred for acronym's that could have been said in X amount of seconds seems on par with my hatred for people eating corn on the cob sloppily.

runtheplacered:

Molikroth:
Anywhere you look there's a trend of decreasing intelligence. Literature, film/television, music.

Why is that a decrease in intelligence if someone uses an acronym? Are people at NASA morons for not saying National Aeronautics and Space Administration every single time?

Shorthand is used by doctors and nurses every single day. ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) or RBC's (Red blood cells) for examples. Sometimes you just get used to communicating in this fashion and I don't agree at all that it's a sign of intelligence diminishing.

Well there are plenty of engineers who work there. They may not be the brightest people in the world. (barrrrrum pshhh!)

crimson5pheonix:

runtheplacered:

Molikroth:
Anywhere you look there's a trend of decreasing intelligence. Literature, film/television, music.

Why is that a decrease in intelligence if someone uses an acronym? Are people at NASA morons for not saying National Aeronautics and Space Administration every single time?

Shorthand is used by doctors and nurses every single day. ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) or RBC's (Red blood cells) for examples. Sometimes you just get used to communicating in this fashion and I don't agree at all that it's a sign of intelligence diminishing.

Well there are plenty of engineers who work there. They may not be the brightest people in the world. (barrrrrum pshhh!)

He'll be here all night, ladies and gentlemen!

That did make me laugh, though.

Way back when thirty-seven bytes per second (six or seven words, and that was if the connection didn't lag) was the norm, the only way anyone could convey a thought with any degree of celerity was to do it through abbreviations.

Nowadays, when you can download the entire text of War and Peace in less time than it takes to walk to your bookshelf and pick up the book, the old tradition of talking like you sold all your vowels to the Polynesians still persists, even though the overwhelming majority of the folks who talked like that when it was a necessity now decry its use by people who are too young to remember cramped bandwidth.

Moral of the story: Make something accessible to the masses and it will become immediately evident that the bulk of the masses are drooling, pants-on-head retarded idiots.

I honestly thought someone would make the: "Well it's not like they're rocket scientists" joke first, that one caught me off guard and I audibly chuckled.

scumofsociety:
Perfectly acceptable shorthand. Although I have to admit I still don't know what 'WOOT' means.

Something like "We owned (the) other team"... Or so i heard, But what Molikroth said is what it means nowadays.

I feel stupid because I have no idea what IMO or QFT means.

As for "LOL", if I remember correctly,it used to be an acronym for "Lot's of love."
A teen comedy show came out years ago on Nick called "L.O.L" and the intro would be kids chanting, "L. O. L. Laugh out loud!"
(Seriously, I'm not making this show up!)
So maybe it came from that?

Why is this such a serious problem to everyone? There is a recession on, murder, death, famine and an impending presidential assasination. Yet it seems the small things are what people are sweating. It actually annoys me this sight of people standing like Canute seeking the stem the tide of linguistic innovation that every generation brings to the table.

Would you have balked at the idea of a standardised english language if you had lived in the Regency era? It was linguistic evolution that led to the language we know today hence we are able to sit and pontificate on the use of these damndable new words.

If you seek to retain the purity of language may I suggest going back to Latin, as this is in part one of the base languages of the Western World, then you would be complaining about people using QED Instead of Quad Edit Demonstrandum.

Oh and I cant spell in Latin or translate correctly.

I hope that you can however translate the meaning in this post.

P.S. for the record I can't understand half of these bloody text speak things so that I would imagine makes me a hippocrete.

EmileeElectro:
I feel stupid because I have no idea what IMO or QFT means.

In My Opinion and Quoted For Truth.

runtheplacered:
But, I can't fault you for disliking something for reasons that are a little sensational. For instance, I can't stand watching most people eat corn on the cob. I hate the way the butter rolls down their chin. Do I have a good reason for that? Not in the least. It's just a weird pet peeve and I understand this. Your hatred for acronym's that could have been said in X amount of seconds seems on par with my hatred for people eating corn on the cob sloppily.

Except someone eating corn on the cob just looks sloppy.

Excessive internet acronyms make people look like illiterate morons.

I've never particularly liked constant use of acronyms, but I have used ftw a few times, if only for satirical purposes.
What I really hate is people saying 'Hai' instead of 'Hi'. It's pointless. I thought you shortened a word to, y'know, shorten it. Not make it longer, and make it look like you're saying yes in Japanese.
I also hate u. People saying u instead of you has always annoyed me.

I really don't mind that internet phraseology has infiltrated the forums. Language changes and to try and stop its march forward is a fool's errand. Merriam-Webster recognized as much when it crowned w00t 2007's word of the year. Moreover videogame culture has played no small part in the creation and proliferation of these phrases.

Am I saying that I want our posts to read like texts some drunk college kid sent to their ex? Not at all. But to somehow suggest we are above the use of a word like pwned or FTW shows an ignorance and unwillingness to recognize the deep connotations those words carry - the meaning they carry.

As Christopher Beam notes in a recent article on Slate regarding the term Epic Fail "Why has fail become so popular? It may simply be that people are thrilled to finally have a way to express their schadenfreude out loud. Schadenfreude, after all, is what you feel when someone else executes a fail. But the fail meme also changes our experience of schadenfreude. What was once a quiet pleasure-taking is now a public-and competitive-sport."

In some ways, internet phraseology is the only language we have to express some the seismic shifts that are affecting our cultural landscape. And we definitely want to embrace it in an intelligent, Escapist way.

sirdanrhodes:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.76094#891026

It's threads like this that make me loose hope from my former shelter from text speak.

I've taken the liberty of putting those grammatical errors in bold for for two reasons:
1) To help illustrate the irony of someone who doesn't use proper grammar complaining about text speak.

2) To be a bit of a prick.

Back on topic:

FTW is the only one I use. It helps get my point across and it's a hell of a lot easier to type "[Insert Object/Person/Action Here] FTW!" then "I fully support and admire [Insert Object/Person/Action Here] and hope that it receives the attention and recognition it deserves."

scumofsociety:
Perfectly acceptable shorthand. Although I have to admit I still don't know what 'WOOT' means.

It's perfectly acceptable when time is a notable constraint, such as video game multiplayer chat and maybe instant Chat programs. But on a forum where time is given, it is inexcusable.

scumofsociety:
Perfectly acceptable shorthand. Although I have to admit I still don't know what 'WOOT' means.

WOOT is like "Yay."

Scorched_Cascade:

Supernovajake:
FTW? FTL? QFT? These still elude me completely to be honest.

For The Win (I think the preceeding word/statement is awesome), For The Loss (opposite of FTW), Quoted For Truth (I think the quoted text is concordant with my opinion/funny) no idea how they became so widely used but I'm guessing 4chan had a hand in it somewhere.

I always thought they meant Quantum Field Theory when someone said QFT. But whatever sinks your ship I guess.

Anarchemitis:
It's perfectly acceptable when time is a notable constraint, such as video game multiplayer chat and maybe instant Chat programs. But on a forum where time is given, it is inexcusable.

I have quoted this bit of text to show my appreciation for this man and his views.
As I do indeed agree with the point he has made.
Anarchemitis? I offer to you an internet high five my good sir.
*does the first half of an internet high five, eagerly awaits the second half*

Regarding simplifying words/the language - anyone read the book "1984" ?

Newspeak doubleplusungood. =(

scumofsociety:
Perfectly acceptable shorthand. Although I have to admit I still don't know what 'WOOT' means.

Me either, it is the damndest thing. But yeah still, why are people complaining about how others type on message boards? It is the internet not an English paper.

JadeWah:
Regarding simplifying words/the language - anyone read the book "1984" ?

I have, and that's one hell of a slippery slope.

I complain because I'm rather egotastic.

Others probably complain because it makes the poster look like an idiot. If someone types in text speak and uses an acronym for every other word, are YOU going to think that he has something intelligent to say?
I sure as heck wouldn't.

The Iron Ninja:

Anarchemitis? I offer to you an internet high five my good sir.
*does the first half of an internet high five, eagerly awaits the second half*

It appears Anarchemitis is going to leave me hanging on this one.
But I still agree with what he said.

Ex_ery:
While i will concede 4chan may have aided in some of them becoming far more mainstream than they originally were I would not agree it spawned anything of the sort: the text message//aol generation gave us LOL, and others in use during instant messaging;

I dunno, the Tribes community seems to have started more meme's than 4chan. I think things like emoticons and lol can be traced back a fair bit farther than AOL though - I can remember typing LOL years ago when we were communicating via the old BBS systems and X.25 networks.

I don't have any problem with how anyone chooses to communicate to one another, because as long as I can grasp the meaning and intentions I'll find it tolerable. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't make a suggestion for them to clean some of it up, because it's only in their benefit that a lot of other people understand what this person is saying. While grammatical skills are important and excessive shorthand does annoy me to an extent, I won't ignore a person because of it. Yes, in a lot of cases, the poster shows a lack of intelligence, but I'm not willing to pass up an exception.

The Iron Ninja:

The Iron Ninja:

Anarchemitis? I offer to you an internet high five my good sir.
*does the first half of an internet high five, eagerly awaits the second half*

It appears Anarchemitis is going to leave me hanging on this one.
But I still agree with what he said.

*completes high five on behalf of Anarchemitis*
I too agree with what he said. You knock out words when you are texting because texting is an unwieldy and time consuming affair, wherein you must press the same button thrice to get the letter 's'. On a forum, you are able to type any letter with the press of a single button, and deletion of mistakes is a lot easier. And to those that say that they use shorthand because they type slowly, nobody is giving you a time limit. Take as long as you want to type if it means you can properly articulate yourself.

*counteracts seriousness of post by having a staring contest with FeNinja's lobster/crab*

The Iron Ninja:

*does the first half of an internet high five, eagerly awaits the second half*

Although I do appreciate the idea it represents,
*hi5*
Short 'Thank You's and 'QFT's or simply appreciation and condensation of an internet community in phrases are things I try in most places to avoid. Back in the days of Joe, people were banned for a Week at a time (because it seemed that and Permanent Bans were the only 'Leave off') for not actually contributing to the forums, and simply conversing in public or agreeing.
I kid you not.

The Escapist is a hollow shell of it's former self, most, of not all the intelligent discussion that once went on. Go look at a thread from March or May. Go ahead, look.

Back? Yeah, scary I know. Some of the things people say used to get people banned. And not just by Joe, Wilson too (I don't remember much about Nil when he was a new mod).

The Iron Ninja:

runtheplacered:
But, I can't fault you for disliking something for reasons that are a little sensational. For instance, I can't stand watching most people eat corn on the cob. I hate the way the butter rolls down their chin. Do I have a good reason for that? Not in the least. It's just a weird pet peeve and I understand this. Your hatred for acronym's that could have been said in X amount of seconds seems on par with my hatred for people eating corn on the cob sloppily.

Except someone eating corn on the cob just looks sloppy.

Excessive internet acronyms make people look like illiterate morons.

I guess. This doesn't seem to be going anywhere. You're dodging the points I make for whatever reason, so I'm done.

Altorin:
dey took are jawrbs?

dey took ur jerb

Yeah I've seen some of the old threads when Joe was still around. I would have been so screwed.
Like, Permabanned sort of screwed.

Someone told me that QFT stood for Quantum Field Theory.

Which was odd, since he had said it when I was talking about how the Terrorists in Rainbow six Vegas can respawn behind you and know exactly where you are.
So for a while I assumed that he meant the Terrorists were masters of Time and Space (or what have you)