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Home > Internet slang


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Internet slang is slang that has been developed and used by users of the Internet. Many of these terms originated for saving keystrokes and are often written in lower case. Internet slang is, by its nature, difficult to interpret, especially in chatrooms or on instant messaging, because much of it is quickly input, and many forget their audience doesn't see their body language. For instance; an "LOL" may be taken as genuine laughter or sarcasm, or as "whatever, stay away from me." So, for the sake of accurate and easily understandable communication, Internet users should be as explicit as possible and make an effort to get their point across.

The Internet environment can also utilise emoticons such as :) to clarify emotional intent in Internet messages. Conversely, they can add to the confusion, for example the :-P emoticon which can indicate both (positive) joking and (negative) sarcasm. Some users overuse emoticons.

Chat acronyms or chaq (pronounced "chalk") originally developed on pre-Internet bulletin board systems, and have since come into use with users of text-messaging wireless telephones. A handful (e.g. ASAP, PO'ed) far pre-date computers. The three-letter acronym (TLA) remains one of the most popular types of abbreviation in computing and telecom terminology and slang.

These lists could usefully expand to include citations of the earliest usage, where references exist.

1 Abbreviations and acronyms

1.1 Characters

Internet abbreviations evolve and change continually. Online games provide a good place to observe language like this in use. Often, people uninterested in computer programming do not understand the more classically "nerdy" phrases like "2B||!2B", thus they become useless or appear only in minority forums.


1.2 Numbers

1.3 A



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