--- title: "BBS and Internet Slang Abbreviations" type: "article" slug: "bbs-and-internet-slang-abbreviations" url: "http://localhost/article/bbs-and-internet-slang-abbreviations/" markdown_url: "http://localhost/article/bbs-and-internet-slang-abbreviations.md" published_at: "2026-11-09T22:33:14+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T22:33:14+00:00" featured_image: url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/20230809-041332.jpg" excerpt: "Over the years quite a number of abbreviations for expressions, acronyms really, have come into use on the net. To help you understand these cryptic terms, we reproduce the list below: I find that though I may not use many of these terms it does help to know what others are saying. There are times…" post_tag: - name: "BBS" slug: "bbs" taxonomy: "post_tag" url: "http://localhost/tag/bbs/" - name: "Reference" slug: "reference" taxonomy: "post_tag" url: "http://localhost/tag/reference/" - name: "Telecomputing" slug: "telecomputing" taxonomy: "post_tag" url: "http://localhost/tag/telecomputing/" indiv: - name: "Frank Davis" slug: "frank-davis" taxonomy: "indiv" url: "http://localhost/indiv/frank-davis/" publication: "Update Magazine" publication_r: id: 10283 title: "Update Magazine" type: "periodical" url: "http://localhost/periodical/update-magazine/" authors: "Frank Davis" issues_articles: - id: 26491 title: "Update April 1996" type: "issue" url: "http://localhost/issue/ts-2068-up-date-april-1996/" pages: "15-20" pubdate: "April 1996" archive_link: false volumeissue: "vn" --- # BBS and Internet Slang Abbreviations Over the years quite a number of abbreviations for expressions, acronyms really, have come into use on the net. To help you understand these cryptic terms, we reproduce the list below: I find that though I may not use many of these terms it does help to know what others are saying. There are times that without knowing what these abbreviations mean that you could find yourself wondering just what the heck the writer meant in an email or text file on the Internet or a BBS. ### Acronyms List: AAMOF = As A Matter Of Fact ADN = Any Day Now AFAIK = As Far As I Know AIM = Another IBM Mistake ATSL= Along The Same Line AWGTHTGTTA = Are We Going To Have To Go Through This Again? Alternative form is AWGTHTGTATA (…Through ALL This Again?) BAC = By Any Chance BAG = Busting A Gut (Laughing) BBFN = Bye Bye For Now BCNU = Be Seeing You BFGWST = Big Fat Grin With Sharp Teeth BIOYIOP = Blow It Out Your Input Output Port BK = Because BNF = Big Name Fan BRB = Be Right Back (generally used on chat systems) BRS = Big Red Switch (on/off sw on original IBM machines) BTA = But Then Again BTSOOM = Beats the [stuffing] out of me BTW = By The Way BWG = Big Wide Grin BYKT = But You Knew That BYKTA = But You Knew That Already CE = Creative Editing [used in ANSI confs] CMIIW = Correct Me If I’m Wrong CUL = See You Later CU L8R = See You Later CYA = Cover Your A** (Ascii ?) CYL = See You Later DIIK = Damned If I Know DILLIGAFF = Do I Look Like I Give a Flying Figment DLG = Devilish Little Grin DNPM = Darn Near P***ed Myself DOM = Dirty Old Man DTRT = Do The Right Thing EMFBI = Excuse Me For Butting In EOD = End Of Discussion EOL = End Of Lecture EOT = End Of Thread ER = Hello ESOSL = Endless Snorts of Stupid Laughter FDROTFL = Falling Down Rolling On The Floor Laughing FISH = First In, Still Here FITB = Fill In The Blank…. FOAF = Friend of A Friend FOTCL = Falling Off The Chair Laughing FWIW = For What It’s Worth FYEO = For Your Eyes Only FYI = For Your Information GD&R = Grin, Duck & Run GIGO = Garbage in, Garbage Out GIGO = Garbage In, Gospel Out (people accepting blindly what the computer says) GIWIST = Gee I Wish I’d Said That GLG = Goofy Little Grin GLGH = Good Luck and Good Hunting GO PRI = Send Private Mail GOK = God Only Knows GOTFIA = Groaning On The Floor In Agony GR 8 = Great HHTYAY = Happy Holidays to You and Yours IAC = In Any Case IAE = In Any Event ICOCBW = I Could, Of Course, Be Wrong IMCO = In My Considered Opinion IMCDO = In My Conceited Dogmatic Opinion. IMHO = In My Humble Opinion IMO = In My Opinion IMNSHO = In My Not So Humble Opinion IOW = In Other Words IITYWYBMAB = If I Tell You, Will You Buy Me A Beer IITYWYBAD = If I Tell You, Will You Buy Another Drink IMV = In My View INPO = In No Particular Order ISBAB = I Should Have Bought a Book ITSFWI = If The Shoe Fits, Wear It IWBNI = If would Be Nice If JOOC = Just out of Curiosity KCBIWIYWI = Keep Coming Back, It Works If You Work It KHYF = Know How You Feel KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid LLTA = Lots and Lots of Thunderous (or Thundering) Applause LOL = Laughing out loud LMAO = Laughing My A** Off LTMSH = Laughing ‘Til My sides Hurt LTNT = Long Time, No Type MLA = Multiple Letter Acronym MORF = Male Or Female MOTAS = Member of the Appropriate Sex MOTOS = Member of the Opposite Sex MOTSS = Member of the Same Sex MUNG = Mash Until No Good NBL = Not Bloody Likely NICBDAT = Nothing Is Certain But Death And Taxes NIMBY = Not In My Backyard NIMTO = Not In My Term of Office NPLU = Not People Like Us NQOS = Not Quite Our Sort NRN = No Reply Necessary NTYMI = Now That You Mention It OAS = On Another Subject OIC = OH!, I See OTOH = On The Other Hand PBX = Private Branch eXchange PF&HOMW = Printed, Framed & Hanging On My Wall PGY = Post Graduate year PGY-1, PGY-2 etc. used in PGY Med PITA = Pain In The A** PLOKTA = Press Lots of keys to abort PMETC = Pardon Me Etc. PMJI = Pardon My Jumping In POSSLQ = Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters POV = Point Of View PPTSPAHS = Please pass the salt, pepper and hot sauce…used when I’ve had to eat crow, my hat, and other unsavory dishes! PTO=Patent and Trademark Office (US Govt) PMYMHMMFSWGAD = Pardon Me, You Must Have Mistaken Me For Someone Who Gives A Damn. ROFL = Rolling On Floor Laughing ROFLAHMSL = Rolling On Floor Laughing And Holding My Sides Laughing ROTBA = Reality On The Blink Again ROTFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing ROFLASTC (or ROFLASC) = Rolling On The Floor Laughing And Scaring The Cat. Originated, I’m told by Pamela Dean, who types with a cat on her lap. ROTFLMAAOBPO = Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** And Other Body Parts Off ROTM = Right On The Money ROY G. BIV = An acronym for the colors of the spectrum– Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet RSN = Real Soon Now RTFM = Read The F**** Manual SFLA = Stupid Four Letter Acronym SITD = Still in the dark SMOP = Small Matter of Programming SOP = Standing Operational Proceedures SOW = Speaking of Which SWAG = Simple Wild A** Guess SYT = Sweet Young Thing TAFN = Thats all for Now TANJ = There Ain’t No Justice TANSTAAFL = There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch TDM = Too Damn Many TIA = Thanks In Advance TIC = Tongue In Cheek TINALO = This Is Not A Legal Opinion TINAR = This Is Not A Recommendation TIWTGLGG = This Is Where The Goofy Little Grin Goes TJATAW = Truth, Justice, And The American Way TLA = Three Letter Acronym (now surpassed by MLA) TPTB = The Powers That Be TOBAL = There Oughta Be A Law TOBG = This Oughta Be Good TRDMC = Tears Running Down My Cheeks TSR = Terminate and Stay Resident program TTBOMK = To The Best Of My Knowledge TTFN = Ta Ta For Now TTYL = Talk To You Later TYVM = Thank You Very Much WAMKSAM = Why Are My Kids (or Kitties) Staring At Me? WAW = Why Ask Why? WIBAMU = Well I’ll be a Monkey’s Uncle WIMP = Windows, Icons, Mouse, Pointing (to describe Windows & other similar interfaces) WRT = With Respect To WYGIWYPF = What you get is what you pay for WYSBYGI = What You See Before You Get It WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get WYTYSYDG = What You Thought You Saw, You Didn’t Get YABA = Yet Another Bloody Acronym YAFA = Yet Another “Fine” Abbreviation YMBK(J) = You Must Be Kidding (Joking) YAP = Yet Another Ploy YGLT = You’re Gonna Love This … YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary ### Military SHAEF = Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force ETO = European Theater of Operation NORAD = North American Air Defense Command AEF = America Expeditionary Force BEF = British Expeditionary Force ANZAC = Australian & New Zealand Army Corp BOHICA = Bend Over Here It Comes Again CATTAC = Chief Assistant To The Assistant Chief DILLIGAFF = Do I Look Like I Give A Flying F#$% FOAD = Fall Over And Die FUBAR = Fouled Up Beyond All Reconigition FUBB = Fouled Up Beyond Belief HMFIC = Head M** F** in Charge HMFICC = Head M** F** in COMPLETE Charge KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid POETS = “Pass” On Everything, Tomorrow’s Saturday POINTS = “Pass” On It Now, Tomorrow’s Saturday REMF = Rear Echelon M** F** SNAFU = Situation Normal All Fouled Up SOP = Standing Operational Proceedures TLAM = Tomahawk Land-Air Missile…aka Cruise Missile TPTB = The Powers That Be ### Others LLAP – Live Long And Prosper LA – Laughing Aloud AAA – Amazingly Appropriate Abbreviation. FTL – Faster Than Light RPG – Role Playing Game SFX – Special Effect YAP – Yet Another Ploy YAR – Yet Another Rumor GMTA- Great Minds Think Alike IDIC – Infinite diversity in infinite combinations TTFN – Ta Ta For Now TTYL – Talk To Ya Later YASQ – Yet Another Stupid Question DQOTD – Dumb Question Of The Day ROBTA – Reality On the Blink Again IMO – In My Opinion L8R – Later ROTM – Right On The Money SIG – Special Interest Group TTMS – Talk (Type) To Me Soon TTYL(A) – Talk (Type) To You Later (Alligator) ### Technical ``` AI Artificial Intelligence ANSI American National Standards Institute ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange BASIC Beginner's All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (programming) BCD Binary Coded Decimal (programming) BIOS Basic Input Output System BPS Bits Per Second (communication) CAD Computer Aided Design CAE Computer Aided Engineering CAM Computer Aided Manufacturing CASE Computer Aided Software Engineering (programming) CCITT Consultative Committee for International Telephony & Telegraphy CD-ROM Compact Disk-Read Only Memory CGA Color Graphics Adapter (screen) CMOS Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (memory) CPI Characters Per Inch (printer) CPL Characters Per Line (printer) CPS Characters Per Second (communication) CPU Central Processing Unit CRT Cathode Ray Tube (screen) DD Double Density (floppy disk) DEC Digital Equipment Corporation DES Data Encryption Standard DIF Device Input Format DIP Dual In-line Package (memory) DMA Direct Memory Access DS Double Sided (floppy disk) DV DESQview (multitasking program) EGA Enhanced Graphics Adapter (screen) EMM Expanded Memory Manager (memory) EMS Expanded Memory Specification (memory) EOF End Of File EOL End Of Line EPROM Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (memory) ESDI Enhanced Small Device Interface (hard disk) FAT File Allocation Table (disk) FCC Federal Communications Commission (communication) GUI Graphical User Interface (screen) HD High Density (floppy disk) HGC Hercules Graphics Card (screen) I/F Interface I/O Input/Output IDE Intergrated Drive Electronics (hard disk) KB Kilo Byte = 1,024 bytes LIM Lotus Intel Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification LPI Lines Per Inch (printer) MB Mega Byte = 1,048,576 bytes MDA Monochrome Display Adapter (screen) MFM Modified Frequency Modulation (hard disk) MIPS Millions of Instructions Per Second MIS Management Information Systems MMU Memory Management Unit MNP Microcom Network Protocol (communication) MS Microsoft OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer POST Power On Self Test PROM Programmable Read Only Memory (memory) RAM Random Access Memory (memory) RLL Run Length Limited (hard disk) TPA Third Party Applications GAFMOI Getting away from most of it GAFIA Getting away from it all (said of someone dropping out) RTM Read The Manual RTFM Here, Sir; Let Me Do This For You, Sir (Military) ```