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Acronyms (and abbreviated text shortcuts)
What they are and what they are used for

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Acronyms (and abbreviated text shortcuts)

What they are and what they are used for

ROFL (rolling on floor laughing)Acronyms are a way for Internet users to "take a short" cut when typing, effectively reducing the amount of time taken to type commonly used terms & expressions.

They are used in all online communucations like, e-mail, instant messaging and especially in SMS messaging.

The difference between an acronym and an abbreviation

All acronyms are abbreviations but not all abbreviations are acronyms.

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Acronym Identifier

Here are a few common acronyms. If the one you are looking for isn't there, try our acronym identifier!

<LOL> Laughing out loud
<BFN> Bye for now
<AFK> Away from (the) keyboard

Tips: If the Acronym Identifier cannot locate the acronym you are trying to find on your first attempt, try some variants. Typing the acronym with and without the ( < ) less-than and ( > ) greater-than signs and in uppercase or lowercase might help, e.g.

<lol>
<LOL>
lol
LOL

Of course, you may have found one we don't have!. If it's not here then let us know - we'll find out what it is, let you know and add it to our list!

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Parts of this Web site were taken from Parry Aftab's book The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace. Marvel and all character names and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc., and are used with permission. TM & © 2004 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved. www.marvel.com. Super Heroes is a Co-owned registered Trademark.
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