Alphabet Soup – Chat Acronyms

FWIW there are a lot of acronyms out there, especially on AIM, YIM, MSN, and IRC. I am FAQ about what these things mean. It would be nice to tell people to RTM, but AFAIK there aren’t very many comprehensive lists available (BICBW). So, here is a list of many common acronyms I’ve seen used from time to time. HTH. IAE, if I left some favorite ones out, BMG to add them in the comments. Just keep them kid-friendly. Thx!

A/S/L … Age/Sex/Location
AFAIK … As far as I know
AFK … Away from keyboard (especially wireless users not at a computer)
AIM … AOL Instant Messenger; also verb for transferring files via AIM
ASAP … As soon as possible
ATM … At the moment
B … Back
BAK … Back at keyboard
BBL … Be back later
BBS … Be back soon
BC … Because
BCNU … Be Seein’ You
BFN … Bye for now
BG … Big grin
BIAB … Back in a bit
BICBW … But I could be wrong
BMG … Be my guest
BRB … Be right back
BTA … But then again
BTW … By the way
CFN … Ciao for now
CID … Consider it done
CUL … See you later
CUL8R … See you later
CYA … Cover your arse
C-YA … See Ya
DQMOT … Don’t quote me on this
DYOH … Do your own homework
EOM … End of message
FAQ … Frequently asked questions
FWIW … For what it’s worth
FYI … For your information
G2G … Got to go
GIGO … Garbage in, garbage out
GL … Good luck
GMTA … Great minds think alike
GRA … Go right ahead
GW … Good work
HLVB … Hasta la vista baby
HT … Hi there
HTH … Hope this helps
IAC … In any case
IAE … In any event
ICQ … ICQ Instant Messenger
IDK … I don’t know
IIRC … If I recall correctly
IM … Instant message
IMHO … In my humble/honest opinion
IMO … In my opinion
IMPOV … In my point of view
IMS … I am sorry
IOW … In other words
IRC … Internet Relay Chat (a method of instant messaging/chatroom)
JIC … Just in case
JK … Just kidding
JTLYK … Just to let you know
K … Okay
KIS … Keep it simple
L8 … Later
L8R … Later
LOL … Laughing out loud
M$ … Microsoft
MSN … Microsoft Network (or MSN Messenger)
NBD … No big deal
NP … No problem
NRN … No response necessary
OH … Off hand
OIC … Oh I see
OMG … Oh my gosh!
OTOH … On the other hand
OTP … On the phone
PLS … Please
PLZ … Please
POC … Point of contact
POV … Point of view
ROFLMAO … Rolling on floor laughing my arse off
ROTFL … Rolling on the floor laughing
RSN … Real soon now
RTFM … Read the flippin’ manual
RTM … Read the manual
RUOK? … Are you okay?
SYS … See you soon
TAFN … That’s all for now
TBA … To be announced
TBD … To be determined/decided
TBH … To be honest
THX … Thanks
TIA … Thanks in advance
TTFN … Ta ta for now
TTYL … Talk to you later
WB … Welcome back
WFM … Works for me
WTF … What the f—?
WTG … Way to go
WTH … What the heck?
WU? … What’s up?
YIM … Yahoo Instant Messenger
YT? … You there?
YW … You’re welcome