Communicating with Instant Messaging Shorthand

Given the abbreviated nature of instant messages and the hassle of typing messages, many chatters employ acronyms, or IM shorthand, for super quick communications.

Limit your use of IM shorthand to common acronyms most readers are likely to understand. If you have any doubt that your reader will not understand (perhaps because of language or cultural differences) avoid acronyms altogether.

?4U	question for you
BCNU	be seeing you
BFN	bye for now
BRB	be right back
BTW	by the way
CUL8R	see you later
F2F	face to face
FAQ	frequently asked questions
FOAF	friend of a friend
FUBAR	fouled up beyond all reason
FWIW	for what it’s worth
FYA	for your amusement
FYEO	for your eyes only
FYI	for your information
GMTA	great minds think alike
GW	good work
HHOK	ha-ha, only kidding
IC	I see
IDK	I don’t know
IMCO	in my considered opinion
IMHO	in my humble opinion
IOW	in other words
JK	just kidding
K	okay
LOL	laughing out loud
MOTOS	member of the opposite sex
MOTSS	member of the same sex
MSGS	messages
NFW	no [freaking] way
NLT	no later than
NRN	no reply necessary
OBTW	oh, by the way
OIC	oh, I see
OTOH	on the other hand
OTP	on the phone
PCM	please call me
PLS	please
PMFJI	pardon me for jumping in
PRES	presentation
PTP	pardon the pun
QTY’S	quantities
REC’D	received
RGDS	regards
ROTFL	rolling on the floor laughing
THX	thanks
TIA	thanks in advance
TIC	tongue in cheek
TMRW	tomorrow
TTFN	ta-ta for now
TTYL	talk to you later
TYVM	thank you very much
WB	welcome back
WRT	with regards to
WTG	way to go
YR	your
YT	you there?