List Members FAQ

What's with all that weird spelling, bad grammar, strange abbreviations and other stuff?

Like I talked about typing in all caps, there's lots of ways to demonstrate emotion in email, using *'s around words for emphasis, using smiley faces and other emoticons, using acronyms like LOL for Laughing Out Loud and more. People may also use slang, both real life slang and computer slang like using "4" instead of "for" or "u" instead of "you". On some lists, this type of thing is common, on others, it's not, just depends on the general list atmosphere and any rules the listowner makes about it. For a listing of the basic acronyms and emoticons, check out Dr. Internut's Internet Resource Clinic pages about acronyms and emoticons.

More sites for figuring out acronyms:
Acronyms and their meanings
Acronym Server Simplified
Acronym Finder

As for bad grammar and spelling errors, it's important to remember that every user on the internet isn't a secretary! :) Many people don't know how to type by touch and the keyboard layout isn't always easy for beginners. And remember that you're dealing with a wide spectrum of people on the net, with varying backgrounds and educations and in various countries where English may not be their first language and some people are not as comfortable with the written word as others. Enjoy the diversity and the chance to reach to across borders and around the world and experience different cultures, look for what people mean to say, rather than how they phrased it or spelled it. If you're still confused, ask politely, explain that you're just not clear on what they meant and that you want to understand, if they wouldn't mind giving more detail or talking more about their theory. Keep in mind that we all communicate in different ways and that is the beauty of life! :)

(Thanks to Gloria for the additional acronym links.)