Friday, June 26, 2009

The Language of Chat

In a previous blog I had touched upon how chatting and chat rooms are their own sub-culture. Each room has their own little quirks and codes of conduct which makes them different and unique in their own way. However, every room has one thing in common - the language.
In the world of chatting, speed is essential. Especially when you stop to consider that at any given moment there are several conversations going on at once. This can (and often does) boggle the mind. So, being the resourceful buggers that they are, chatters found a way to type faster. They shorten certain words and phrases. Knowing this chat-speak code will make your life so much easier. It sure did mine when I was forced into the Sex Stage. You have no hope in hell of becoming a room regular without knowing, and successfully using, chat-speak. Now, here's the catch, nobody's going to tell you what the code means, and if you ask what something means, it's a sure way to land on the outcast list. Had I landed on the outcast list, I would've had no chance of tracking down my killer, so it was beyond critical that I knew chat-speak.
Now I will pass my knowledge on to you. Here's a chat-speak guide. If you ever decide to enter the bizarre and fascinating realm of chatting, this guide will be like a bible to you.
LOL = Laughing out Loud. This is probably the most commonly used phrase in chat-speak. Sometimes people expand on this and will use LMAO. LMAO = Laughing My Ass Off. When someone is feeling really rambunctious, they will say LMFAO. I'm sure you can guess what the F means.
PC = Private Chat. Private chat is a room within the room. In the Sex Stage, you created a Private Chat box by double clicking on a person's name from the name menu. One click and you see their profile - two clicks and you open a PC box. Only two people can be in a PC box at a time. This is for privacy, obviously. Normally, when people want to talk dirty and have themselves some serious adult conversation, they use the PC box.
BRB = Be Right Back. Again, you will see this one very often. It's pretty much self-explanatory. Let me just quickly add here that when someone uses BRB, you might see other people say HB. HB = Hurry Back. I'm proud to say that I was able to figure out BRB and HB without the help of the chat-geek Lt. Gramm forced upon me to teach me chat room codes and etiquette.
Another phrase I was able to unravel all by myself was BTW. BTW = By The Way. This isn't used all that much, but you will see it.
KOTC = Kiss On The Cheek. This is stupid and cheesy as all hell, but it's used a lot. If you replace the C with an L, you make it Kiss On The Lips. If you add an S in front of the K it then stands for Soft Kiss On The . . . Add a G and it's Gentle . . . I'm sure you get the idea by this point. If not, then you're a hopeless case and I have to let it go and move on.
Let's get through the real easy ones quickly. S = Smile. VBS = Very Big Smile. TY = Thank You. YW = You're Welcome. NP = No Problem. OMG = Oh My God. BBL = Be Back Later. WB = Welcome Back. TTYL = Talk To You Later. These are all universal. And used to death.
I don't know about other rooms, but in the Sex Stage EWG = Evil Wicked Grin. UDY = Undressing You. I never used that one myself, mind you, but I've seen others use it enough. I always that that one was dumb as hell.
I, of course, wanted to add one: YUA = You're Under Arrest. However, I was pretty sure that would blow my cover. Duke would then be known to be a cop, and that was not the plan. Nobody would've talked to me then and finding and stopping the murderer would've been impossible. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack already, I didn't need to add to the difficulty level.
You can see for yourself just how hard it was for me tracking the killer when you read Original Sin, a murder/thriller novel by S.C. Lang coming out soon by i Universe Books. OS is a thrill ride, that's for damn sure. I should know, I'm Detective Dallas Holden, the main character of Lang's first novel. Until next time, take care out there people. Chicago is a very dangerous city and I don't want to see anyone get hurt. Not in my city - not on my watch.

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