Chat abbreviations
May 6th, 2008 by dipankar
At the beginning when I was new to the internet, I saw people chatting by using some peculiar terms like “LOL”, “BRB”, “ASL” etc. I confused that they may be using some code language. If you’re new to chatting and messaging online, you might be a bit bamboozled by the strange symbols and acronyms that you see cropping up in chat, message boards, emails and Instant Messages.
Fear not - these are simply abbreviations designed to save the typist time and make the best use of their limited screen space. They can also give a greater degree of personal expression to online conversations.
There are certain basic principles and rules observed by this type of chat language. Certain words may be represented by a collection of letters and/or numbers that sound the same when said aloud but which take up less space (e.g. m8 = mate). Smileys, also known as emoticons, can be used to represent a facial expression and add emphasis to a comment (e.g. 
is a smile).
Other tips to remember when you are typing in capitals. Although you might type a word in capitals for emphasis, to the online world, typing entirely in upper case is construed as SHOUTING and might make people at you.
Smileys
When you are chatting in chat rooms or via Instant Messages, the person or people you are chatting with can’t see the expression on your face or hear your tone of voice. Therefore, they could misinterpret what you are saying. Using smileys (or emoticons) at the end of a sentence can remedy this. A smiley face or a wink can let people know you mean your comment light-heartedly or tongue-in-cheek, and you can even use a smiley to give someone a virtual hug or kiss.
Here is just a small selection of the many possible smileys available. There are lots of variations, and it can be fun to make up your own to trade with people you meet online.
General Smileys
“:)” or “:-)” - Smile
“:D” - Smile / laughing / big grin
“:(” or “:-(” - Sad face/frown
“:|” - Grim face
“:*” or “:-)x(-:” - Kiss
“;)” - Wink
:X - My lips are sealed
“:P” - Sticking out tongue
{} - A hug
{{{{{{{ }}}}}}} - Lots of hugs
:’( - Crying
O:) - Angel
‘:) - Raising one eyebrow
,:) - Raising other eyebrow
8^[ - Stuck up / fed up
}:> - Devil
>:-{ - Hurt and angry
:-` - Hint of a smile
:-@ - Not feeling too great
:-! - Used unrepeatable language
:-& - Tongue-tied
<|:-) - Witch
“:ยข( - Punk smiley
*Remove the inverted commas when using..
Some Chat Jargons:
A/S/L - Age/Sex/Location
AISI - As I See It
AFN- All For Now
AKA- Also Known As
ASAP- As Soon As Possible
AWA- As Well As
B4 - Before
B4N / BFN - Bye For Now
BRB - Be Right Back
BTW- By The Way
CIO - Check It Out
CSL - Can’t Stop Laughing
CUL8R / CYL - See You Later/ Catch you later
DIY- Do it yourself
F2F - Face-to-Face
GR8 - Great
GAS- Greetings and salutation
GTG - Got To Go
HAK - Hugs And Kisses
HAGD- Have a good day
HB - Hurry Back
HIH- Hope it helps
IDK - I Don’t Know
IDTS - I Don’t Think So
IMO - In My Opinion
IOW - In Other Words
IIRC- If I remember correctly
IYKWIM - If You Know What I Mean
IYSS - If You Say So
J/K - Just Kidding
KWIM - Know What I Mean
L8R - Later
LMK - Let Me Know
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
OIC - Oh, I See
OMG - Oh My Gosh
OTOH - On the Other Hand
PLS - Please
ROTFL or ROFL or ROTF - Rolling On The Floor Laughing
SWDYT - So What Do You Think?
THX or TX or THKS - Thanks
TYVM - Thank You Very Much
WB - Welcome Back
WDYS - What Did You Say?
WDYT - What Do You Think?
YGBK - You Gotta Be Kidding