TL;DR and more

TL;DR and more: a reader asks…

Hi, i’m a new blogger (thanks for your tips on how to get started!), and I’ve started posting on social media. I’m seeing some comments with abbreviations like TL;DR and am not sure what the commenters are saying. Can you give me a quick decoder ring?

Sure, in the interests of not getting a tl;dr comment myself, here’s just the top 10 abbreviations you might encounter in the blogosphere. I’m not including the most common that most folks who use social media are already familiar with (like lol, ttfn and brb):

1. tl;dr – means too long, didn’t read. This is usually a comment on a ‘wall of text’ type blog, also known as a ‘longread’. The commenter is telling you that they couldn’t or wouldn’t invest the time to read your article. also tl;dw for long videos.
2. fwiw – for what it’s worth. This is a throwaway and means the same as imo (in my opinion)
3. j/k – just kidding. Commenters may snipe at your prose, and then disarm their barbs with a j/k
4. nsfw – not safe for work. A comment with this might have strong language or meaning that might not be appropriate for the workplace.
5. rtf or rtff or rtfm – read the FAQ (the m is for ‘manual’, the extra f is an expletive). Frustrated commenters might say this in response to another comment that shows the reader obviously didn’t read the article. Or the comments threads.
6. ymmv – your mileage may vary. This means that it’s an opinion based on the commenter’s experience and they admit that others may have different experiences. Similar to imo.
7. ht – hat tip. Giving credit to someone/someplace else for the idea, the information, etc.
8. afaik – as far as I know. The commenter doesn’t know everything and is telling you their qualified opinion
9. op – original poster, aka the author. Often used on comments of comments of your article – they’re referring to you.
10. and the often misused bao – a danish word for poop. Lots of folks seem to think it means baby or sweetie. Some folks mean it to be – before anyone else (meaning the person referred to is #1 in their book).

You can look up any abbreviations on Urban Dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com) and get not only what they stand for, but meaning, usage, and alternate meanings. Urban Dictionary is also a great source to look up colloquial words and terms that aren’t yet in standard dictionaries.

If you’ve got a favorite one, please post it in the comments below!

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