Brain Broadcast - Internet Slang August 24, 2007
Posted by markdykeman in internet slang, rant.10 comments
Yeah, I can be a bit uptight about spelling and grammar.
Slang drives me nuts at times, particularly when people deliberately misspell words (do U no whut I meen?) Brrrr. Painful.
Internet slang is in that grey zone of my personal sensibilities, but most of it doesn’t bother me.
Except for… that damned palindrome.
You know what I’m talking about. The one that 80% of the on-line writing population uses, misuses, abuses, and otherwise overuses. It’s…
LOL
It makes the hair stand up on my back and my head. I’m starting to tremble, sweat, and my stomach is aching. Plus I need to go to the bathroom now. Actually, that’s because of all the caffeine I’m drinking, but I digress…
LOL means “laugh out loud” (I just typed “laugh out, lout” by accident… coincidence?)
There’s some unwritten rule that every on-line statement, whether a single sentence or an entire essay, must contain that acronym at least once.
That means that somewhere, anywhere, at any moment, someone is indeed “laughing out loud”.
Not.
Ask yourself this question: when you type “LOL”, are you really laughing? Are you smiling? Grinning? Smirking?
Huh? Are you?
If you are laughing out loud, and you’re alone at that moment… um, maybe you need to get away from the computer for a bit and find someone to talk to. In person. Not online. Perhaps someone with a degree in medicine. Or psychology.
I’m guessing that 75% of the people who type LOL aren’t laughing out loud. So, if you aren’t laughing while you type… THEN WHY THE HECK ARE YOU WRITING “LOL”?
If you aren’t laughing about the stuff you just wrote, the reader on the other end probably isn’t either. But they might be wondering about your sanity.
Just keep that in mind.
By the way, this post is complete BS! Ha, ha, ha! LOL!
(The author is now taking a break from blogging, at the advice of a medical professional. Please remember to blog responsibly and in moderation.)
