What do BTW, FAQ, FYI and other acronyms mean?

These are all abbreviations for specific phrases commonly used in informal written computer correspondence, online forums and boards, and online gaming. Following is a list of some common acronyms and their meanings:


AFAIC As far as I'm concerned

AFAIK As far as I know

AFK Away from keyboard

BRB Be right back

BTDT Been there, done that

BTW By the way

BUAG Butt-ugly ASCII graphic

C/C Comments and criticism

EOM End of message

FAQ Frequently Asked Question. When people say "the FAQ", they are generally referring to a list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions. These are posted monthly on many newsgroups or mailing lists to reduce discussion of topics that have already been thoroughly covered. It's a good idea to look at a FAQ file for a newsgroup or mailing list before participating in it. For help in finding FAQ files, see the Knowledge Base document Where can I find a repository of Usenet FAQ files? A large list of all known FAQ postings in newsgroups is also posted periodically in the Usenet newsgroup news.admin.

FTW For the win

FWIW For what it's worth

FYI For your information

HTH Hope this helps

IANAL I am not a lawyer

IIRC If I recall correctly

IMHO In my humble opinion

IMNSHO In my not so humble opinion

IMO In my opinion

IOW In other words

l33t or 1337 From "elite". This has become a term used to describe the informal communication of Internet gaming. L33t speak is easily identified by the substitution of number and other characters for regular letters; e.g., hackers becomes h4XX0rz.

LFG Looking for group, usually used in MMORPGs

LMAO Laughing my butt off

LOL Laughing out loud

MMORPG Massive, multiplayer, online role-playing game, such as World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies

MOTAS Member of the appropriate sex

MOTOS Member of the opposite sex

MOTSS Member of the same sex

NG Newsgroup

n00b From "newbie", meaning a newcomer not yet familiar with the rules

OTOH On the other hand

PWN Usage of the term "own", as in "I PWNed you!"

RL Real Life, as opposed to the Internet

ROFL Rolling on the floor laughing

ROFLMAO Rolling on the floor laughing my butt off

RTFM Read The Fine Manual. This may be interpreted as: "You have asked a question which would best be answered by consulting the manual (or FAQ, or other help files), a copy of which should be in your possession. The question you have asked is clearly answered in the manual and you are wasting time asking people to read it to you." It's good netiquette to mail this type of answer to another user rather than post it in public messages.

SO Significant other, used to refer to someone's romantic partner without making any assumptions about gender or legal status

TLA Three letter acronym

TTFN Ta ta for now

TTYL Talk to you later

w00t An expression of joy

WFN Wrong forum, noob

WTF What the heck

YMMH You might mean here

YMMV Your mileage may vary

{g} Grin

{BG} Big grin