Why do people use such obscure abbreviations here?

Tl; dr.

To create a sense of ingroup/community, exclusivity?

Moreover, the communication is usually clear for people who have been members for more than a few days. New members will take some time to become familiar with the peculiarities of any group they hook up with. This board is no exception; I see similarly idiosyncratic behavior, unique colloquialisms/abbreviations, and inside jokes on other discussion boards as well.

TADT (They All Do That)

There’s a user here, Shibboleth, that ONLY uses SDMB-exclusive abbreviations, initializations, and acronyms.

JK

Someone beat you to it LOUNE

iICWYDT.

Does anyone else wonder what TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW would think of this thread?

O, u c?

The only one I didn’t get was SWIM

Someone
Who
Isn’t
Me

I keep checking for an opportunity to use TINSTAAFL in this thread.

Nevermind, wikipedia gives both TANSTAAFL and TINSTAAFL as alternatives.

aka, bwc.

It still holds water.

Re: MPSIMS OP - TTFN

On Lamebook, a girl posted that her mom thought LOL meant “Lots Of Love.” Then she posted a text that her mom sent her:

“Your grandpa just died, LOL”

:smack:

My on facebook took a picture of his iPhone. The screen had a SMS conversation between him and a stranger starting off with that stranger, a guy, who dialed the wrong number and sent him a breakup text message.