There are a number of terms commonly used on the Straight Dope Message Boards, that are basically “in-jokes” or references.
There are several threads listing such, I have tried to compile them all into one post here. If anyone has additions or corrections, please email me – I’m going to keep this locked, so it doesn’t become too long and rambling, but remains fairly focused and easy to use. I have taken these descriptions from various threads and posts by various members. This thread isn’t updated regularly, so some of these may have fallen from use.
I have excluded common abbreviations on the net, such as:
AFAIK = As Far as I know
IANA lawyer (“I am not a lawyer;” also used as in IANA doctor, plumber, pharmacist, etc.)
IIRC = If I recall correctly
IMHO for “In my humble opinion” – which is also the name of one of our forums
Perfect Master – the title for Cecil Adams. If you don’t know who Cecil Adams is, read the FAQ on our Homepage: Who is this Cecil Adams anyway?.
TMI for “Too much information,” used when a person has told way, way, way more than other people want to know.
WAG (“wild assed guess”)
YMMV (“your mileage may vary”)
All your ____ are belong to us - originally “All your base are belong to us”, a bit of fractured Engrish originally from the video game Zero Wing, which became famous in a flash animation in early 2001. This isn’t unique to Straight Dope Message Boards. See Wikipedia or any one of a zillion other websites that refer to this.
Chick Tracts – Chick tracts are small, comic-book style pamphlets expounding fundamentalist Christian doctrines as imagined by one Jack T. Chick. They are referenced and ridiculed routinely on the SDMB.
Gaudere’s Law – Named after the Administrator Gaudere, her law states that any post criticizing a previous post’s grammar or spelling will itself have a grammatical or spelling error.
References to goats or felching – nasty (really disgusting) sexual practices.
The Grapist or To Grape – There was a poster (quickly banned) called “The Grapist” who would repost other people’s posts and color them purple. The name originated from an Onion article about unpopular McDonald’s characters.
Hi, Opal – Back when SDMB was a feature of AOL rather than a separate website, OpalCat complained that a list truly ought to have at least three items in it, and people were using the list function for things which only have one or two items. Someone posted a list of only two items shortly thereafter and added “3. Hi, Opal!” to it – the gimmick caught on, and has become a SDMB cliché ever since. (It should be noted that “cliché” means this expression has out-worn its humor by now, and is viewed as trite and not often used currently.)
Invisible Pink Unicorn – The Invisible Pink Unicorn is the second of the SDMB deities (Cecil being the first), though not original to us. It is often referred to in Great Debates along these lines: 'There is as much evidence for God as there is for the Invisible Pink Unicorn."
MMP – Monday Morning Post. One of our posters used to do a rambling thread every Monday morning. I don’t know why he or she isn’t doing them anymore, but others have been stepping up to continue the tradition. Sometimes “Guest MMP” or “Member MMP”
Mod Hats – Occassionally, a moderator enjoys getting involved in discussions as a participant. To distinguish when a moderator is making a formal statement based on the rules from his/her own personal opinions, he/she “puts on the Moderator’s Hat” to do the former, and so distinguishes the roles. (This is a custom elsewhere on the net, as well.)
MPSIMS – “Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share” is the name of one of the forums on the SDMB, although topics are not limited to the mundane or the pointless. The forum description says, “For general discussion: from frivolous chatter to deep thoughts; from harmless diversions to life-changing announcements.”
1920s Style Death Ray – Former member Dogface’s used this startled exclamation (repeatedly) in the midst of a discussion of “scalar weapons” that was probably the longest GQ thread ever.
NSFW or NSFWP – “Not Safe For Work” or “Not Safe for Work Place” refers to material that is of a mature nature. This could apply to sexual content, bad language, adult situations, depictions of violence, etc. In other words, if your boss happened by and saw you looking at this instead of working, he/she would NOT be pleased. Generally, we require that such sites NOT be reachable by an accidental click: if you want to deliberately go there, you can cut-and-paste the URL, or there can be a two-click barrier.
Penis ensues – originally a typo, for “panic ensues.” Used for… well, just about anything.
Og Variants include Og smash! and similar – One of the SDMB board deities. Og first surfaced as the result of a typo, from a former board contributor who misspelled the word “of” and typed “Jesus is the Son og God.” Hilarity ensued.
OP – “Original Post,” meaning the post that started a thread. It is sometimes used to refer to the original poster (the person who started the thread.) Nothin’ like a little ambiguity in what it means.
Overlords, as in “I, for one, welcome our new <whatever> overlords” – makes reference to the Simpson’s episode Deep Space Homer, in which news anchor Kent Brockman mistakenly believes that giant ants will take over the Earth after Homer accidentally breaks an ant farm aboard the Space Shuttle.
To Pit – To rant on a subject in The BBQ Pit. (Probably obvious, but the verb form is used so commonly here that it’s worth specifying.)
SDSAB –- As a title under someone’s name, this honorific means membership in the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board. These are the people who write Staff Reports on a regular (or reasonably regular basis) and sometimes assist Cecil with research… such as, allowing themselves to be bit by mosquitoes. Staff Reports (formerly called “Mailbag”) are found in the section of the Website called ARCHIVES. If you are interested in writing Staff Reports, contact C K Dexter Haven.
SFW = “Safe for Work” (See NSFW above, “Not Safe for Work”)
Sock or sock puppet –- When a poster sets up an alternate username (in violation of SDMB rules), usually for nefarious reasons. The original use was when a person registered multiple times to debate with himself (or more likely, agree with himself in a debate.) It is now also used to refer to situations when a poster was banned but tries to sneak back in under a secret identity. Note that, under SDMB rules, a person may have only one user name; having multiple usernames is a bannable offense.
Trainwreck – A thread that goes horribly wrong. A topic becomes derailed, and the OP and trailing posters become a tangled mess. Accusations fly and feelings are hurt. The trainwreck causes bystanders to stop by and gawk, worsening the disaster.
Troll – This is general internet usage for “somebody who is posting just to be confrontational or to raise hackles.” See Staff Report: What is a troll?.
Related term: DNFTT – “Do Not Feed The Trolls.” A troll doesn’t care what response they get – anger, hostility, sarcasm, it doesn’t matter. Any response “feeds” them; they get their jollies from provocation. If you don’t feed them, they will get bored and go away. Arguing with a Troll, making fun of them, responding to them in any way is equivalent to “feeding” them.
NOTE:It is against Straight Dope Message Board policy to accuse someone of trolling. See, the accusation of trolling is “feeding” them – it’s responding to them. The best response is silence. If you see behavior that you believe is trolling, do not respond in the thread – instead, report the post to the Moderators. Let them handle it. (The exception: Calling someone a troll permitted in the BBQ Pit forum, but please be aware that it’s not really an accusation that will be taken seriously by moderators unless you report it.)
When come back bring pie – The phrase originated when a Doper posted a link to this Weeble and Bob episode. It also spawned “mmmmmm! pie.” What does it all mean? Damned if I know.
Whoosh – The sound of something going over another person’s head. Usually used when someone posts a serious (often outraged) reply to a joke. The verb form is to say that the person has “been whooshed.”
Winter of Our Missed Content – The boards forced to shut down in the early months of 2002. When life was restored in March 2002, several months’ worth of posts were lost and not archived. Sometimes this is called the diaspora.