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Electronic Mail Emoticons (Smilies) & Shorthand (Abbreviations) • To read this page OFFLINE: (In your browser, in its formatted style...) Save As or export as "source" format. Then "open file" within your browser software offline. • To PRINT this page from your browser: We recommend an 80% reduction to easily fit standard 8.5 x 11" page width. by Kass Johns (originally written 12/96 for http://www.kassj.com) Here are the commonly used abbreviations, and emoticons used to convey emotion or tone when conversing in text-only messages. Email Abbreviations You all know: FYI = For Your Information and ASAP = As Soon As Possible and probably SWAK = Sealed With A Kiss These are nothing more than shorthand for commonly used phrases. Well, these are no different, just a few more (in alphabetical order)... AFAIK = As Far As I Know AFK = Away From the Keyboard (to let someone know you stepped away for a moment while live chatting) AOL = America OnLine BTW = By The Way CIS = CompuServe Information Service FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions (This file is a common staple in most newsgroups and forums. Always refer to the FAQ before you ask your question. It likely has already been answered in the FAQ.) FWIW = For What It's Worth FYA = For Your Amusement GA = Go Ahead (as in live chat when you want to let the other speaker know it is their turn) GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out IMO = In My Opinion IMHO = In My Humble Opinion IMNSHO = In My Not So Humble Opinion IOW = In Other Words KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid LOL = Laughing Out Loud OTOH = On The Other Hand ROFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing ROFLOL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud RSN = Real Soon Now (as in, when the company will release the new version of their software) RTM = Read The Manual (Actually, this is the polite contraction of RTFM--you guess what the F stands for.) TIA = Thanks In Advance (used to thank someone up front when you ask for help with something) TPTB = The Powers That Be TTFN = Ta Ta For Now WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get <g> = small grin <G> = big grin <VBG> = Very Big Grin <ggg> = giggling <weg> = wicked, evil grin <gd&r> = grinning, ducking & running (as in just saying something sarcastic) <gd&rvf> = grinning, ducking & running very fast <gd&rvvf> = grinning, ducking & running very, very fast (and so on) There are more of these abbreviations, but these are the most common ones. You will find that most of your corespondents will use a core set of these.   Emoticons (Emotion Icons) or Smilies These may look like gibberish, but they are just a simple way to indicate a smiley face with emotion. Since we are limited to text, we cannot draw a smiley or a frowny. Tilt your head to the left to see these faces, usually used at the end of a sentence to indicate an emotion. See that the basic smiley is a colon (the eyes), a hyphen (the nose) and a close parenthesis (the mouth). If you still cannot see it, ask one of your kids to show you. :-) :-) = smiley. The basic smiley, some use the :) without the hyphen "nose" as a short smiley ;-) = winking ;-* = wink with a kiss :-* = kiss :-D = laughing or big grin :-( = frowning ;-( = crying :-O = look of surprise/shock :-P = pfffftt (giving someone the raspberry) or just sticking your tongue out at someone These are the basics. Once you become well-versed in this shorthand and email, you can then experiment in the silly emoticons that fill books and articles. Although, hardly anyone uses those daily. A few of these follow. Here are three that I use on occasion: :-/ = whatever :-\ = whatever :-| = I call this one, "Have a Day" And here are a few very goofy ones for people with nothing better to do with their time: *<:-) = wearing a ski cap with tassel O:-) = an angel :-)) = person with a double chin }:-) = man with a toupee B-) = someone wearing sunglasses (looks like Batman or Robin to me) O-) = someone wearing a scuba mask See, I told you they were silly! If you _really_ want to know more about these, get a book from your local bookstore on Smilies. I know that Peachpit Press has one, as does O'Reilly & Associates.    More Email Netiquette and Novice Information: [ Email Netiquette ] [ CyberMyths Debunked ] [ Don't use AOL's "Forward" Command ] [ Emoticons (Smilies) & Shorthand (Abbreviations) ] [ Stop The Junk Email! ] [ Programmer's Paradise Glossary ] © Copyright 1996-2001 by Kass Johns, all rights reserved world wide. 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