Abbreviations: Are they always good?

[EternalSSaturn]

I always use abbreviations. But when I actually heard the Abbreviaition in class, it was rediculous in a sentence.

And BTW, I never knew until i read it in the business section of the newspaper that Mp3 stood for Moving Picure Experts Group audio layer 3! I never even knew what MPEG stood for! I prefer now to say MPEG audio layer 3, because I understand what it means.

But this is just an example of confusion regarding abbreviation. Post replies about the most confusing abbreviations for you and whether or not it should be used abbreviated.

[fwgx]

I think it's actually MPEG 2 layer 3

(might be MPEG 1 though, can't remember off hand).

[griffinn]

Abbreviations, as a class, cannot possibly be judged as inherently "good" or "bad".

Individual abbreviations evolve into existence and disappear into obscurity all the time. You can say that the "good" ones live on, while the "bad" ones wither away. That's "survival of the fittest" at work.

Some abbreviations are so widely used that they eventually become words in their own right. Some examples are: laser, PC, e-mail.

Don't like the modern examples? Here are some more with a longer history. What we used to call "motion pictures", now we call "movies". Motor cars become cars. Omnibuses become buses.

Want older ones still? How about P.S., etc., e.g., i.e...

So abbreviations are all around us. Just exercise your common sense and use them when you expect most of your intended audience will understand them.

[k_rock923]

actually, laser is an acronym, not an abbreviation.

[griffinn]

Acronyms are just abbreviations with a stricter rule of formation (initial letter from each word). At least that's how Merriam-Webster defines it.

And I forgot to give examples of "bad" abbreviations. RIAA and MPAA would probably qualify.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

RIP
MOSFET
GMC
CIA
MS
BMW
DVD
LED
HDD
HTML
PSU

...you actually know way more of these than you may think. But tell me what MOSFET stands for without looking it up.

[SSJ4 Gogitta]

I know that one. had to use them in college.

Spoiler: Metal-oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Good, now what's EGR stand for?

[fwgx]

Electrified Guineepig Rabbits


I AM TEH WINNAR!

[ryan]

PHP

My favourite.

[mark]

SATAN

Spoiler: silly abbreviation that doesnt fit the letters at all.

[lostonline]

Originally posted by idiot
PHP

My favourite.

Or in the same vein GNU

Acronyms/abbreviations are good if everyone understands them but if used with people who don't understand they can just confuse or make a difficult subject even harder to understand.

[whiteflip]

MOAB - Mother of All Bombs (Multiple or Massive Ordinance Air Blast)

They are acronymns, not aberviations and I will die over that gramatical belief. Its the only grammer rule I know.

My friend started using Whatev instead of whatever. I think that is somewhat annoying in a text form.

[mikm]

PCMCIA- Personal Computer Memory Card International Association or People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronoyms
UNIX- Uniplexed Information and Computing System
NPTL- Native POSIX Thread Library
APT- Advanced Package Tool
XP- Experience (not sure if this counts as an acronym or not)
NT- new technology
IEEE- Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers
ISA- Industry Standard Architecture
PCI- Peripheral Component Interconnect
ATA- Advanced Technology Attachment

[k_rock923]

Originally posted by whiteflip
They are acronymns, not aberviations and I will die over that gramatical belief. Its the only grammer rule I know.

yes! someone agrees with me! thank you whiteflip!

[drewbar]

Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
and I knew that off the top of my head for some ungodly reason.

UNIX isn't an abbreviation, that I am aware of. But it did derive from
UNICS: Uniplexed Information and Computing System

Never heard of the last two. Unless APT is that Debian packing system, but I don't know what that stands for.

[Edit: You edited, m²k. *shakes fist*]
I'll add one to your list:
POSIX: Portable Operating System Interface

[mikm]

(see my edited post)
APT isn't just Debian. It works for most distros.

[hgnis]

WTF.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Well, since everything I've posted in this thread have been acronymns so far... how about an abbreviation.

abbr.

[mark]

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