Master the obscure acronyms people use on IRC to save keystrokes .
IRC attracts a curious breed of user people who seem happy to sit around chatting all day, yet are too lazy to type full words at times. Understanding the acronyms they use will make it easier to fit in, but you are advised not to join in with their acronym overload.
Here is a list of the most commonly used abbreviations and acronyms on IRC. Some of them may already be familiar to users of Usenet groups or web boards :
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- AFAIK
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As far as I know.
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- AFK
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Away from keyboard. People often type this if they are in the middle of a conversation and want other people to realize they are not around. It is sometimes added to the end of a user's nickname to indicate the same fact; for example, Jibbler may change his nickname to Jibblerafk.
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- ASL
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Age/Sex/Location. This is something asked of all newcomers in prepubescent channels.
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- ATM
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At the moment.
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- BBIAB
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Be back in a bit.
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- BBIAF
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Be back in a few.
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- BBL
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Be back later.
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- BBS
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Be back soon.
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- BRB
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Be right back. Often said when someone is in the middle of a conversation but has to dash off to do something, with the intention of returning to the conversation.
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- BTW
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By the way.
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- CYA
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C (see) you.
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- DCC
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Direct Client Connection. The name given to the connection used to transfer files or chat directly to another user without going via the server.
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- DL
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Download.
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- DW
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Don't worry.
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- FFS
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For f*#&'s sake.
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- FIIK
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F*#&ed if I know.
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- FUBAR
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F*#&ed up beyond all repair/recognition.
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- FY (FU)
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F*#& you.
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- FYI
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For your information.
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- GN
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Good night.
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- IANAL
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I am not a lawyer.
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- IIRC
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If I recall correctly.
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- IM(H)O
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In my ( humble ) opinion.
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- IRL
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In real life.
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- JK (J/K)
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Just kidding.
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- LART
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Loser/luser/lamer attitude readjustment tool. Channel operators may ready the LART to deal with users who don't seem to have a clue.
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- LMAO
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Laughing my ass off.
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- LO
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Short for hello.
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- LOL
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Laughing out loud. This is a common response from people after you've said something funny .
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- LTNS
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Long time no see.
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- MOTD
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Message of the day. This is normally announced when you connect to an IRC server.
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- MYOB
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Mind your own business.
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- NM
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Not much or never mind.
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- NP
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No problem.
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- OIC
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Oh, I C (see).
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- OMG(D)
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Oh my God (darn).
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- PLS,PLZ
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Please.
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- RE
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Re-hello. People may welcome you with this if you part a channel and rejoin it a while later.
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- RO(T)FL
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Rolling on (the) floor laughing.
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- RTFM
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Read the f*#&ing manual. A common response to users who join a channel and ask a question that is already answered in some documentation.
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- TTYL
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Talk to you later.
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- TY
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Thank you.
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- URL
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Uniform Resource Locator (Internet address).
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- W/
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With.
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- WB
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Welcome back.
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- WE (W/E)
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Whatever.
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- W/O
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Without.
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- WTF
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What/who/why/where the f*#&.
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- WTG
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Way to go.
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- WTH
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What/who/why/where the heck/hell.
