Online Speak is the modern language of today that surfaced on chat sites and online communication boards, and is currently being used by just about everyone across the world regardless of their own native language. It's really a foreign language that has been expanding for more than a decade and still maturing.

In this article I'm going to expose you to a number of common online acronyms or abbreviations that are used on the internet nowadays on chat sites as well as other web based communication systems. We shall begin with the more frequent acronyms like "lol", "btw", and then I am going to cover a few lesser known ones like "lmao".

. "LOL": "Laughing Out Loud"

In case you've conducted just about any online chatting at all, it's likely that you're already familiar with lol. This is because it's the most well-known and most commonly used acronym online today and it's the standard method of indicating that something is humorous. Keep in mind that even though it is short for "Laughing Out Loud" it could be employed in any kind of situation when a smile is warranted. If you've done video in addition to text chat, you would ofttimes be amazed by how many folks who are not even smiling when they type "lol". "lol" has developed over time to the level where it really is now the established acronym to use in the form of response to any funny comment made by other people online.

. "ROFL": "Rolling On The Floor Laughing"

This as you would likely have guessed, is the extreme variation of "lol", it can be justifiably made use of in especially funny contexts. "rofl" is usually less put to use than "lol", nevertheless it really does serve essentially the same functionality. The rule of thumb is, if something genuinely made you have a good laugh for real (not necessarily really loudly) then "rofl" is essentially the word to use. A lot of people choose to use a prolonged "lol" like "loool" as a substitute for "rofl", this is certainly practical too, at the end of the day everyone has his own preferences and you learn to make use of the acronyms that match well with your character and overall attitude. "lmao" is an additional alternative for "rofl" that we'll talk about later on in this article.

. "BTW": "By The Way"

Essentially self-explanatory, having said that it may be used liberally in online communication to basically talk about anything that branches from the key topic. In real life you cannot simply go into a place filled with strangers talking and say "btw, how can I do xyz?". Online you've gotten more freedom to utilize "btw" for different purposes.

Bare in mind that you shouldn't use it on a regular basis to switch the subject as it can certainly irritate some people, especially if whatever you happen to be saying isn't going to relate to the primary topic being discussed.

. "ATM": "At The Moment"

As you've probably have suspected, this has absolutely nothing to do with ATM machines, not likely as well known as the ones I've already stated, nevertheless it is definitely not uncommon online. Even in formal email interaction, you find "atm" utilized in the same way it is utilised in real life. Having said that, if you're going to make use of "atm" in an email ensure that the person obtaining your mail knows this acronym, you would be surprised by the amount of of people who are unaware of this word and would stop reading your email to make sense of what you're actually trying to say.

. "AFK": "Away From Keyboard"

This is a truly organic acronym, employed to convey the fact that you're simply not near your keyboard anymore, or more specifically, you are not available anymore to talk to other people. It's a good idea to use this word even if you may be going away for a brief amount of time, or else, people might continue chatting with you, thinking that you could be basically ignoring them. If you think that someone you happen to be communicating with is not really aware of exactly what "afk" implies, you can actually basically use the extended full version.

. "IMO": "In My Opinion"

Regularly used on web based boards to show that you're not revealing a fact, that it's merely an opinion. Additionally it is a smart way of politely disagreeing with others of different viewpoints. "imo" is fairly new compared to the other acronyms we've stated, nonetheless it is a very common one today, even in professional interaction.

. "LMAO": "Laughing My A** Out"

This is yet another way to convey the fact that a thing is humorous. It is actually less widely used than "lol" and "rofl" and is fairly new, however join just about any chat room and you'll see it utilized all over the place.

Lmao is almost certainly not the right phrase to utilize when you're replying to your boss's humorous email about you being late for work. It is actually much more commonly used by youngsters, rarely utilised in any kind of formal context.

I'll be writing more on the topic of online acronyms, and web based chat, as it is certainly an exciting topic to me, if you enjoyed this article, you can check http://www.lmaomeaning.com/.