LOL, really?
June 28, 2007
My brother and I chat online a lot while I am at work. He sends me some of the funniest videos, websites, and (more recently) recites the goofiest poetry, etc. Basically, I laugh audibly in the office while my co-workers think me a fool.
At some point, I will post the funnies that I am given everyday. But for now, there is a weightier matter at hand: the use of the online acronym “lol”.
Directly translated, “lol” means “laugh(ing) out loud”. So, when you are in a conversation with someone and you put “lol”, you are saying that you are literally “laughing out loud”. If you are not really laughing out loud, you should probably use “haha”.
“LOL” has been taken for granted. I have seen it. People are handing out their “lol”s like pretzels. I have been chatting it up with my brother and we have been trying to come up with new alternatives to the “lol” craze. We have devised a few new acronyms. What do you think?:
pmpf: pee my pants funny
cuol: cracking up out loud
wh: wicked hilarious
My personal favorite is “pmpf”. Apparently, I am not the originator of that one (www.urbandictionary.com). But, I did think of it on my own without consulting that website. So, I will claim it proudly. I hope it catches on (much like I hope the b.log verb does) and is used (almost) literally–don’t pee your pants.
“Cuol” could work too because it’s one of those acronyms that can be said how it is spelled and sound like “cool”.
Anyways, I am not saying that “lol” should be off limits. But, please use it with the weight it deserves.
Do you have any creative acronyms?
life logged at the speed of beth 
June 28, 2007 at 11:02 pm
You are my favorite. Too bad I’m anti text-lingo. 😦 You can add me now, or do whatever it is that you do. my blog is liveforlove.wordpress.com
June 29, 2007 at 1:53 am
Interesting creative flow! Pmpf is cute but Wh is my fave of those you’ve created.
I, too, enjoy acronyms for the shorthand benefit they provide as useful abbreviates but get so annoyed with some of the usage I see. For some people it seems just another way to put some bad language into conversation without using bad language. When I use any of the shorthand, I generally mean it even if the OL part must be an internal roar! You know, I find this mutability of language and grammar to be fascinating as we are able to actually watch a general population get hooked into the use of acronyms and abbreviates in everyday communication. LOL has moved from game-speak to common use. Becoming more common – ROFL is a good one, too though I would guess rarely literal.
June 29, 2007 at 6:34 am
pmpf… sooo funny. try pmff… pretty mother frickin funny. ok so mine almost sounds like a swear word. pmpf is pretty frickin funny though.
June 29, 2007 at 6:43 am
I really do not like “lol”. I never say it. Personally i’m a fan of “haha”. I like wh! Wicked! Its like i’m harry potter!
June 29, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I’m with you Beth. I don’t like all that IM froof…but sadly, I find myself straying from my orthodox beliefs. “Brb everybody!”, “No, URAQT!”
Love the blog, Beth. Very clever. I’m so happy Keenan sparked your blog address. He’s great at all this kind of stuff.
July 2, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I’m reminded of the tale of metamorphosis of MBNA the achronym for the Maryland Bank Of North America. In the world of national or even international banking, mergers and takeovers occur resulting in inaccurate achronymity. Maryland Bank of North America is no longer headquartered in Maryland as it was merged with Bank of America so now MBNA stands for Meaningless But Nice Achronym.
MA(Mildly Amusing) Uncle Les
July 9, 2007 at 4:21 pm
I’m a big fan of wh. ROFL is pretty good too.
/.jz