For the uninitiated, text communications via the Internet and cell phone text messaging may be daunting at first. Humans tend to use abbreviations every chance they get. So, in online chat and elsewhere we end up with terms like LOL, for "laughing out loud", and AFK, for "Away from keyboard", etc.
A strange thing has happened though. Now that we are able to actually talk over the internet via VOIP (voice over IP), the strangeness became apparent. It seems we have bred a new generation of users who pronounce all of these abbreviations, where possible. They have in fact taken the abbreviation and turned it into a new word.
Recently, I was in a live voice-chat with some people, and someone kept making this strange sound. Without any aparent emotion, he kept saying "lol" and/or "lolz" after other people stated something of interest.
Eventually I caught on to what he was doing. "Are you pronouncing 'el oh el'?" I asked him. There was a longer than usual delay in the conversation as he paused to consider my question. Then he said "yea" and proceeded to laugh out loud.
So, it seems from this and the liberal use of the letters LOL everywhere I look in cyberspace, that when people are typing LOL, they aren't actually "laughing out loud" anymore. It is now being used more to acknowledge that something was amusing or of interest.
But fear not, dear reader - If you chat with me and see those blessed three letters in combination, I will have, in reality, "laughed out loud" ... or at least let out a quick chuckle. I am taking a hard line position on this one. If no happy audible emotion has bubbled forth from my body, you won't catch me throwing around the LOL carelessly.
If everyone was laughing as much as they are typing LOL - we would probably be on our way toward world peace.
To all of you unrighteous LOLerz out there - knock it off ;) My gift to you all is an alternative that you can post liberally without regard : nod or NOD or nodz
What does that mean? It means that you are nodding your head in agreement - which is really how you have been treating my beloved LOL.
LOL
Actually that was a small chuckle... maybe I should have used something new... CKL :)
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