See also: A Dictionary of Internet Terms by Melissa BEE, a member of the newsgroup

• AFAIK = as far as I know
• <beg> = big evil grin
• BTW = by the way
• dh/dp/dw = dear husband/dear partner/dear wife
• ds/dd = dear son/dear daughter
• FWIW = For what it's worth
• FYI = For your information (sort of "in case you're interested")
• <gr> = grin, grinning
• IME = In my experience
• IMHO = in my humble opinion
• IMNSHO = in my not so humble opinion
• j/k = just kidding
• LOL = laughing out loud
• mil/fil = mother-in-law/father-in-law
• NG = Newsgroup
• OTOH = On the other hand
• ROFLMAO = Rolling On the Floor Laughing My A** Off
• ROLF = Rolling On the Floor Laughing
• sil/bil = sister-in-law/brother-in-law
• SO = significant other
• TIA = Thanks in advance
• TMI = Too Much Information - things you'd rather not hear about.
• <vbg> = very big grin
• YMMV = "Your mileage may vary" ie you may have a different experience/opinion
• :o) or :-) = smiling face on its side
• :o( or :-( = sad
• :o^ or :-^ = tongue-in-cheek (very useful on an autism newsgroup)
• :oP or :-P = sticking our tongue (humorously)
• 8-) = goggle-eyed person, or person in spectacles
• ;-) = wink

Originally compiled by Anna Hayward on behalf of the alt.support.autism newsgroup, November 2000. Original site design and HTML by Kalen Molton. Please address any general queries to Mike Stanton. Broken links and problems of a technical nature should be addressed to John Muggleton by entering details in the comments box of the form here. Any opinions expressed in this article are personal and should not be construed as medical advice. We are not representatives of any of the companies discussed, nor do we receive any form of commission.

The latest version of this faq is at www.mugsy.org/asa_faq