---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998/02/18 acronyms / purpose of our list / cyber-dad ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- hi all ...those of us who have been privileged to have access to the internet for some time are frequently guilty of using 'insider' language and short-forms without regard for the newer internet adventurers i consciously try to avoid using such insider 'lingo' in consideration of the above-mentioned 'newbies' and in consideration of the international aspect of this list-family i am privileged in that english [my native language - albeit the canadian version] is becoming or already has become the internet's primary language i only have admiration for those who have learned english as a second [or third, or fourth...] language so... SPAM = that canned manufactured pseudo ham = 'junk' e-mail spewed to all and sundry LOL = laughing out loud ROTFLOL = rolling on the floor, laughing out loud PD = parkinson's disease PWD or PWP = person with parkinson's disease PARKIE = another version of person with parkinson's disease in re the above two terms: you pays your money and you takes your choice! ... words / ideas that are written can be easily misunderstood [especially, it seems, when the tone is casual and teasing] since there is no body language / facial expression to assist the receiver in interpretation so short-forms and 'emoticons' like: <g> = grin or giggle :-) = smile have developed for clarity's sake the internet and e-mail are a brand new communications phenomenon so in the larger sense, we are all 'newbies' to this medium... IMHO = in my humble opinion, FWIW = for whatever it's worth, sometimes very short messages can 'backfire' in the sense that the sender may intend a kindness in being brief but the receiver may interpret the brevity as curtness or criticism some of our cyber-family want short messages some want long messages some want jokes some want purely pd-related info we are each of us totally unique one-of-a-kind individuals [how's that for excess redundancy?] we have to do what we have to do to be true to ourselves and not be overly concerned with others' opinions of us i believe that the purpose of this list is sharing [of which our 'list-mom' barb patterson perpetrated the ultimate by starting this list in november 1993] if we feel the need to share news about pd or non-pd grief or celebration anger or humour joy or pain so be it ...i hope all of us continue writing to all of us we are in this 'boat' together and for the 'long haul' each one of us regardless of our skill or comfort level with the internet has something to contribute which might benefit others ...i think that 99% of angry reactions are caused by mis-understandings or mis-interpretations and the best [maybe only] way to clear out the mess is to talk it all out back to our favourite cyber-dad don mckinley and his expression I.Y.Q.: which as pronounced in english sounds like: 'eye why kew' which if said quickly can sound like: 'i wike you' which can sometimes be interpreted as 'baby-talk' for: 'i like you' i have always found the expression delightful as well as more than a tad goofy which is another reason why i.y.q. 2! [mr. don and mr. pd both!] your cyber-sibling in silliness [yr cybyr-cyblyng yn syllynyss] janet ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- janet paterson - 52 now /41 dx /37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada <http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/index.htm> [log in to unmask]