# BTW, IANAL, IIRC, IMHO, ..... WFT!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2001, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064 "2001-11-02T04:41:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![samboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@samboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samboy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/1 "2001-11-02T04:41:15Z")
I love the SDMB for the info and also for the little challenges I find in the posts. I get most of the acronyms but some I have no idea. I thought IIRC was “in IRC” instead of “If I Remember Correctly” IMHO : “In My Humble Opinion” BTW : “By The Way” The new one I saw today was IANAL : “I Am Not A Laywer” Are these listed anywhere? Give me some ones Im missing. ---
**Author:** ![samboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@samboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samboy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/2 "2001-11-02T04:42:39Z")
ICNFS : I Can Not F\_cking Spell ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/3 "2001-11-02T05:20:22Z")
[http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/lyndale/lotcaf/acro.htm](http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/lyndale/lotcaf/acro.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/4 "2001-11-02T06:17:09Z")
> [@](#): > > FNAR: Can be either an abbreviation for For No Apparent Reason (American usage) or a exclamation of smuttiness. (e.g. “Let me hold your big stick, fnar fnar!”) (British usage). 😕 …big stick? Fnar? Those British are a wacky group. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/5 "2001-11-02T06:54:25Z")
Sam, you actually bring up a good point and a sore spot with me. I’m of the opinion that such acronyms are not conducive to communication, show a lack of care for the point one is trying to get across, and only serve to demonstrate that those who use them are more concerned with appearing “hip” than actually making a point. Keeh-rist, if you can’t take the time to type out a handful of words, don’t bother, because I’m not going to bother going to some secret decoder Web site so I can decipher what the fuck it is you’re trying to say. ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/6 "2001-11-02T06:58:39Z")
OTOH, YMMV 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/7 "2001-11-02T06:59:22Z")
There was an exhaustive [ATMB thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=2528) on this very topic you might want to check out. Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/8 "2001-11-02T07:15:45Z")
> [@](#): > > **Nacho4Sara:** Those British are a wacky group. You aren’t kidding. I seem to have inadvertantly posted a link to a either:[ul][_]a bestiality website :eek:[_]or… a website for folks that get a kick out of dressing up like animals.[/ul]I didn’t look closely enough to determine _exactly_ what a “furry” lifestyle is. Google sure does take you into odd corners sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/9 "2001-11-02T07:31:50Z")
When something is funny, but not haha funny, I’ll say **csg**. Which I’ve used for some 5 years now. I picked it up from powwow. It means chuckle, snicker, grin. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/10 "2001-11-02T07:33:58Z")
NZINPOA. New Zealand Is Not Part Of Australia. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/11 "2001-11-02T07:49:55Z")
I actually was going to make a point, but I got sidetracked by the temptation to be a smartass. I don’t think people use acronyms to be ‘hip’. They’re just shortcuts that developed in this medium. The net is less formal than standard written English, and people want to take less time putting their thoughts into words, so they use acronyms. I will grant that they can be a barrier to communications initially, and that may tend to create a division between the regs and the newbies, but it really doesn’t take too much time to get the basics down. I’d also guess that acronyms and other shortcuts are even more common in chat, where the speed of communication is much quicker. [sub]\* disclaimer: I’m in the military, and we _do_ love acronyms! [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/12 "2001-11-02T08:06:29Z")
You often see: FSASYAOFBFOTCANNCILADTTPTAMACENWAEIAGCWTWTNOANSCASDCLEWAMOAGBFOTWWHCTDAPOTFAAFRPFTWHGTLTTNMLIIAFAPTWSDTBIALSWCNDWCNWCWCNHTGTBMLADWSHHCIFAOPPTAODTWWLNNLRWWSHBICNFWTDHIIFUTLRTBDHTTUWWTWFHHTFSNAIIRFUTBHDTTGTRBUTFTHDWTIDTTCFWTGTLFMODTWHHRTTDSNHDIVTTNUGSHANBOFATGOTPBTPFTPSNPFTE The Gettysburg Address ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/btw-ianal-iirc-imho-wft/91064/13 "2001-11-02T08:29:54Z")
BITSOW - Brevity is the soul of wit.