I Hate Acronyms! Which Ones Do You Love Or Hate?

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

SCADA…Supervisory Control and Data Accusation.

HMI…Human Machine Interface.

I won’t go on to bore any who might see these…acronyms are the parents of the Texting World…something that has made our children lives such an abbreviated one that they can hardly write. ROFLOL! without exclamation points!!!! So I always feel like I am being yelled at. My last job had over 100 different acronyms…I had to put a list in my office to keep up.

BTW…did I mention I hate acronyms!

Here is a list…

http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php

[LeSellers]

Before this gets too far along, we must distinguish between "acronyms" and "abbreviations".

All acronyms are abbreviations, not all abbreviations are acronyms. People often confuse the two, using "acronym" as if it were a synonym for the broader term. The electro-tech industry is especially egregious, and the abbreviation TLA (and FLA) for "three- (or "four-) letter acronym" means three-letter abbreviation.

An acronym is an abbreviation, like NATO or NAZI, that we can (and do) pronounce as if it was a word. "ADA" (Americans with Disabilities Act) is not an acronym because no one says "Ada", we all say "Ay-Dee-Ay". "UN" is not an acronym: no one says "uhn".

In addition, there are "super acronyms". These are acronyms, one or more letters of which stand for another acronym. I have seen a third-level acronym, but only one.

Generally, I like acronyms. I do not like people who use them without a genuine reason to believe that their hearers/readers will know what they stand for. The internet, including this forum, seems to promote such "common" usage, and I have seen many that are really confusing.

If in doubt, use the full term. IMNSOHO*.

* Which is not an acronym: you cannot pronounce it as an ordinary English word.

Lehi

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

Before this gets too far along, we must distinguish between "acronyms" and "abbreviations".

All acronyms are abbreviations, not all abbreviations are acronyms. People often confuse the two, using "acronym" as if it were a synonym for the broader term. The electro-tech industry is especially egregious, and the abbreviation TLA (and FLA) for "three- (or "four-) letter acronym" means three-letter abbreviation.

An acronym is an abbreviation, like NATO or NAZI, that we can (and do) pronounce as if it was a word. "ADA" (Americans with Disabilities Act) is not an acronym because no one says "Ada", we all say "Ay-Dee-Ay". "UN" is not an acronym: no one says "uhn".

In addition, there are "super acronyms". These are acronyms, one or more letters of which stand for another acronym. I have seen a third-level acronym, but only one.

Generally, I like acronyms. I do not like people who use them without a genuine reason to believe that their hearers/readers will know what they stand for. The internet, including this forum, seems to promote such "common" usage, and I have seen many that are really confusing.

If in doubt, use the full term. IMNSOHO*.

* Which is not an acronym: you cannot pronounce it as an ordinary English word.

Lehi

Now I really hate them.

In popular usage to this day, the letters SOS (no periods) are commonly believed to be an acronym for:

Save Our Ship

Save Our Souls

Sink Or Swim

These are termed 'backronyms,' as explained below, and came into popular use AFTER SOS went into effect. In actuality, and as originally intended when SOS was introduced in 1908, the letters have no meaning.

SOS is a Morse "procedural signal” or "prosign." As the SOS signal is a ‘prosign’, its respective letters have no inherent meaning per se. In the simplest terms, SOS is a ‘SIGNAL’ indicating distress and the need for help, and not an acronym or abbreviation.

After SOS was first used by the steamship Arapahoe in 1909 (not the Titanic in 1912 as many people believe), people applied their own meanings to the letters. The most popular ones: "save our ship" and "save our souls." These are correctly termed ‘bacronyms.’

‘SOS’ was chosen because the three dots, three dashes, three dots are easy to transmit and not easily confused with other letters by the sender or recipients. With the advent of radios on ships beginning in the 1920s, ‘Mayday’ became, and still is, the International Distress Signal, but SOS served its purpose, for a while.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Bill “Papa” Lee

[MorningStar]

I hate "LOL".

[LeSellers]

I hate "LOL".

LOL is not an acronym. It's an abbreviation.

Lehi

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

LOL is not an acronym. It's an abbreviation.

Lehi

Since I cannot change the thread name...let's just go with it.

[guitarist]

Actually, I've heard multiple people refer to LOL as "lull". Same with ROFLMAO (pronounced as "raw-full-mow"). By the aforementioned definition, these would be acronyms.

[Freedom]

In Canada we briefly had two national political parties join forces, calling themselves the Conservative Reform Alliance Party. The day after the convention, the news paper headlines read CRAP!!

[mercyngrace]

On the outskirts of my hometown, there is a drinking establishment named Fubar. No. I'm not joking. Whether the title refers to the general ambience of the place or the condition of the patrons after happy hour, I have no way of knowing.

Anyway, that's an acronym I dislike.

[altersteve]

I'm an LDS living near SLC, UT, who tries to CTR by reading the BOM everyday, and who hopes to become an RM, go to BYU, and maybe someday become a GA, so it's kind of hard to get away from acronyms.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

In Canada we briefly had two national political parties join forces, calling themselves the Conservative Reform Alliance Party. The day after the convention, the news paper headlines read CRAP!!

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

I'm an LDS living near SLC, UT, who tries to CTR by reading the BOM everyday, and who hopes to become an RM, go to BYU, and maybe someday become a GA, so it's kind of hard to get away from acronyms.

That is funny.

[LeSellers]

I'm an LDS living near SLC, UT, who tries to CTR by reading the BOM everyday, and who hopes to become an RM, go to BYU, and maybe someday become a GA, so it's kind of hard to get away from acronyms.

That is funny.

But none was an acronym.

Lehi

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

But none was an acronym.

Lehi

The thread is here for fun, not an English lesson. Just assume all saw you previous posts and have a moment of fun.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Bill “Papa” Lee

[LeSellers]

Sorry, no can do.

I hate the misuse of words. "Peruse" does not mean "scan" (however badly many people use it), it means to read deeply for understanding. Awesome means capable of inspiring awe.

Using words sloppily leads to misunderstandings. Misunderstandings lead to fights. No one wants that.

Lehi

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

Sorry, no can do.

I hate the misuse of words. "Peruse" does not mean "scan" (however badly many people use it), it means to read deeply for understanding. Awesome means capable of inspiring awe.

Using words sloppily leads to misunderstandings. Misunderstandings lead to fights. No one wants that.

Lehi

You are truly seeking to take something meant for fun and have it shut down for bickering? OMW!

[thesometimesaint]

O.I.L

Operation Iraqii Liberation.

and

AFCITHOLM

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Edited February 24, 2012 by thesometimesaint

[MorningStar]

But none was an acronym.

Lehi

DGYPIAB, Lehi!

[guitarist]

I know that this isn't an acronym, or even an abbreviation, but Lehi, I get the impression that were you to talk to someone like this, you'd go into full nuclear meltdown :

[LeSellers]

I know that this isn't an acronym, or even an abbreviation, but Lehi, I get the impression that were you to talk to someone like this, you'd go into full nuclear meltdown

It depends on whether writer was a native English speaker. I have a lot more sympathy for English-language learners (and French- or Italian-language learners) than for natives who simply cannot (or refuse to) use something approaching standard English/French/Italian.

I have no patience at all for "Ebonics", for example. It's fine for people to use some sort of patois or "family language" for internal communication, but it just doesn't work for people outside the community.

Even in the most extreme situation, however, I still have to be able to understand the message. Your example seems to have had no message: the signal-to-noise ratio approached 0.

Lehi

Edited February 24, 2012 by LeSellers

[guitarist]

It depends on whether writer was a native English speaker. I have a lot more sympathy for English-language learners (and French- or Italian-language learners) than for natives who simply cannot (or refuse to) use something approaching standard English/French/Italian.

I have no patience at all for "Ebonics", for example. It's fine for people to use some sort of patois or "family language" for internal communication, but it just doesn't work for people outside the community.

Even in the most extreme situation, however, I still have to be able to understand the message. Your example seems to have had no message: the signal-to-noise ratio approached 0.

Lehi

The response by Max of course was making fun of Ben's unintelligible status. I find such responses to be hilarious, especially when read aloud because it intentionally had a signal-to-noise ratio of near 0. My apologies if you did not share my humor.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

The response by Max of course was making fun of Ben's unintelligible status. I find such responses to be hilarious, especially when read aloud because it intentionally had a signal-to-noise ratio of near 0. My apologies if you did not share my humor.

I fear he has none...Sorry LeSellers.

[Nathair/|\]

I find recursive acronyms, where the acronym is also one of the words forming the acronym, entertaining. A lame example, but the best I can come up with off the top of my head is: MISC = MISC Is Super Cool.