The Internet slang reference article from the Simple Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
(provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Internet slang

Spread the word about a children's charity with social media
People who use the Internet and World Wide Web have made up so many words it can seem like they use their own language. Words like this are called slang. Some words are new, like blog and wiki. Some common words like mail (to mean email) or news (to mean netnews) compare older ways of communicating to ways with a computer.

There are many mixed metaphors in computer slang. For instance boot, net, web, link have usual meanings about feet, fish, spiders and chains. When used in relation to computers, they are part of this net jargon. Words like site, chat or mail also have parallel meanings in the net and World Wide Web environment. Many net users claim that the use of the term community is appropriate to describe a social network on the net, while others claim it is another dual-meaning word.

Some verbs and adjectives have been created to describe things that only happen on the net:

Net jargon relies on many acronyms. See List Of Slang Words for a list of general slang also used on the Internet.

Many are shorthands for well-worn phrases or idioms, or for emotional states or levels of certainty. Most of these are not actually acronyms as they cannot be said in the way they are written. But some people still call them acronyms. Some of them have been made up because they mean you do not have to type as much. You can also write them in lower case letters.


Many terms also characterize people:


Many people make them up net jargon and abbreviations on the fly, so these abbreviations can often be confusing.  It is impossible to list them all.  Examples: OTP (on the phone), PO (pissed off), or the more common, OPTD (outside petting the dog). Also words are often cut short to save typing.  These may one day creep into common usage and end up in the dictionary.  Examples:


The word 'teh' is just a mistake when typing 'the'.  It is so common it is used now on purpose to mimic new users or people who are too enthusiastic..  Example:  "That movie was teh suck!!", "The fight scene with all the Agent Smiths was TEH AWESOME", etc.  This latter usage originates with JeffK.

Net jargon (like any jargon - see especially military jargon) can be used to intimidate, confuse, or gain power over those who do not understand it well.

Internet writing is, by its nature, difficult to interpret, especially in chatrooms or on instant messaging, because much of it is quickly input, and many assume, falsely,  their audience knows their body language. For instance; a 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, it is best to be as explicit as possible and make an effort to get your point across. Smilies such as :) can also be used to clarify emotional intent in internet messages.


External links