Online Lingo
Although many online daters may communicate by e-mail, there's usually also the option to chat using an instant messenger, which allows for a better flow of conversation. Over the years, a new online language has developed alongside this method of communicating, which uses abbreviations for some of the most commonly used phrases, allowing chat to become faster and more instantaneous. Completely incomprehensible to newbies (that's people new to the Internet), here is a selection of the most commonly used terms:
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AFK | Away From Keyboard |
| ATM | At The Moment |
| ATST | At The Same Time |
| B4 | Before |
| B4N | Bye For Now |
| BAK | Back At Keyboard |
| BBIA | Be Back In A Few |
| BBL | Be Back Later |
| BBN | Bye Bye Now |
| BRB | Be Right Back |
| BTW | By The Way |
| CSL | Can't Stop Laughing |
| CWYL | Chat With You Later |
| DKDC | Don't Know, Don't Care |
| FTTB | For The Time Being |
| FWIW | For What It's Worth |
| FYI | For Your Information |
| GR8 | Great |
| GTG | Got To Go |
| GTSY | Glad To See Ya |
| HAGO | Have A Good One |
| HAK | Hugs And Kisses |
| HB | Hurry Back |
| HHOK | Ha, Ha Only Kidding |
| HTH | Hope This Helps |
| IAE | In Any Event |
| ILY | I Love You |
| IMO | In My Opinion |
| IRL | In Real Life |
| IYSS | If You Say So |
| J/K | Just Kidding |
| J/W | Just Wondering |
| KIT | Keep In Touch |
| KWIM | Know What I Mean |
| LMAO | Laugh My Arse Off |
| LMK | Let Me Know |
| LOL | Laughing Out Loud |
| LTIC | Laughing ‘Til I Cry |
| LTNS | Long Time No See |
| LYL | Love You Lots |
| M8 | Mate |
| MRS | Meet Real Soon |
| MYOB | Mind Your Own Business |
| NBD | No Big Deal |
| NOYB | None Of Your Business |
| NP | No Problem |
| OIC | Oh I See |
| OT | Off Topic |
| OTOH | On The Other Hand |
| POV | Point Of View |
| RN | Right Now |
| ROFL | Roll On Floor Laughing |
| STYS | Speak To You Soon |
| SWDYT | So What Do You Think |
| TIC | Tongue In Cheek |
| TM | Trust Me |
| TMI | Too Much Information |
| TTYL | Talk To You Later |
| TYVM | Thank You Very Much |
| WE | Whatever |
| WYRN | What's Your Real Name |
