An Earnest Request To Dial Back On The Acronyms Just A Bit, Mmmkay?

[TJDisneymama]

Honestly, I just automatically use the abbreviations. That's how my brain thinks of them. I also call my family DH, DS and DD in my head (and sometimes IRL, lol)

 

[ssreward]

We've been using DIS for years since our first WDW trip in 1999, staying at ASMu then, POR later, S/D in 2002 and BWV on rented DVC points the last 8 years or so. On this site we learned how to handle RD, make ADRs and FP reservations on time so as to better enjoy F&W and once F&G as well. We'd be lost without the help we got here concerning EMH, formerly EE, to say nothing of MDE. In short, the thought of posting here without acronyms leaves me LMAO, ROTF!

Bill From PA

I'll third this but no matter how many years I spend here...MILF never does get any easier, lol!!
Eta: Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, for the uninitiated

 

[gtpoohbear]

Not only does it make typing easier (especially on a phone!) But I found that once I got used to it, it made reading easier too. Because the acronyms stand out more, and I can quickly scan through a post to see if there is anything of interest to me.

 

[Anal Annie]

In another thread, some of us are having a laugh at the prevalence of acronyms (MK, RD, EMH, and so on) on these boards.

Look, I get that there's a glossary of what those acronyms mean. I also get that this board is a text-based medium, and some posters like to take shortcuts for the sake of brevity.

But, sometimes the use of acronyms in these threads can get a bit frustrating, especially to the casual DIS reader (like myself) and/or to fans who can't go to Walt Disney World as often as we'd like (like myself).

So I'd like to request that posters consider dialing it back on the use of acronyms just a bit, if you don't mind too awfully much. I think that using acronyms for the theme parks (MK, AK, DHS and Epcot (which is itself an acronym), and using shorthand for family members (DD, DS, MIL, and so on) is reasonable and to be expected. But for individual attractions, restaurants, procedures (Space Mountain instead of SM; Pecos Bill's instead of PB's, or Rope Drop instead of RD, respectively), I think that maybe spelling it out might be a little helpful to some users of these boards.

Just a thought.

TIA (Thanks in Advance)

No offense intended but did you really just ask a whole board full of forum users to "dial it back" on how they post?! (LMAO). You really don't expect everyone to WRITE OUT Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) every time do you?

Afraid this isn't gonna happen no matter how nicely you ask - however someone will always be happy to answer if you can't figure it out - just ask. If you spend enough time here you'll just pick up the Disney-speak thru osmosis. It is part of life on the DIS. You'll get used to it.

 

[DLM1980]

It would just be easier if the forum software would look for the shorthand and upon posting expand the shorthand to its full word. Been coming here 3 years now and a few rides through me off every once an awhile, but restaurants, I have to stop and think, what park are we talking about, what places are there to eat there that matches that abbreviation, and even then its some place I haven't tried yet so I don't even think its real

 

[Sevey13]

When posting, I personally try to write out the whole term the first time, and then use acronyms after. Working for a non-profit with plenty of acronyms, it's what I do in business and personal.

 

[Boski]

The ones that I never understood were the family member ones. Maybe MIL, DIL, etc. Those take time to type out. But DS or son....DW or wife......you're saving a(1) letter......I mean its not like we are trying to say Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.

 

[Accident]

the family ones are so misused and mean something else that I'm with that one..

The rest, I really go back and forth depending on what I'm typing. I do take into account who is reading so if it's someone tossing our acronyms, I"ll probably use them back. If the topic is very basic I tend to type out what it is (or my version of what I call it) so others reading know...

 

[kellyjeanie]

It's not limited to the DIS. Every message board ever created has its own set of abbreviations. Some of the ones used here (mostly the ones used to refer to family members - DH, DS, etc.) aren't specific to the DIS, they're used across the Internet. IOW it's the medium, not the location. It's not going to change.

 

[slbgnb]

I totally talk in the acronyms too!! I just assume my husband (I don't use the family ones though!) knows the basic things like RD or ADR...but, nope...he gets so confused!

 

[Angel Ariel]

If you're having a laugh at the acronym use here, don't ever talk to military people Seriously..acronyms are just a way of life in our house, and always have been. At least the Disney ones are easier to figure out in context

I would also point out that many people - myself included - actually think of these things in their head as the acronym. I have to check myself when talking sometimes not to say "MK" instead of "Magic Kingdom" (again, reference living the military life where speaking in acronyms, not just writing in them, is incredibly common). So many people aren't making a conscious choice to write the acronym...it's how they think of that word in the first place, so it's how it gets typed as well.

 

[maxiesmom]

Not gonna happen. After a while, all of the acronyms will become second nature to you. Just like you posted "So I'd" instead of So I would.

 

[Lynne M]

Just sayin', this isn't just a DISboards thing. Online communities tend to develop their own lingo. I've been on knitting boards and cosmetics boards that have at least as many acronyms as the DIS does. You would never dream that there could be so many acronyms involving makeup.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

I try to limit abbreviations if I'm responding to a newer poster, and if I use an abbreviation someone doesn't know I'm happy to tell them if they ask. I have to ask for clarifications myself every now and then. But using them among veteran posters on more in depth topics saves too much effort to switch to spelling things out every time. That said, it would be helpful to limit the use of abbreviations in thread titles so searches, especially by newer posters, would be more useful. That may not be as helpful in searches for BBB though.

 

[GPC0321]

As others have pointed out, it's not a DIS thing, it's an internet thing.
I belong to a few horse forums, and the names of the popular breeding stallions in certain disciplines are always abbreviated, and there are always posters who are confused. Some of the stallions names/acronyms that come to mind: VSAG (Vital Signs Are Good), RLBOS (RL Best of Sudden), IAAB (It's All About Blue), TIAH (These Irons Are Hot), ZCC (Zips Chocolate Chip)...and on and on and on it goes. You just learn the lingo for that board.
If I'm on the DIS, I know AP means Annual Pass. If I'm on a horse forum, I know AP means American Pharoah.

 

[MainMom]

It would just be easier if the forum software would look for the shorthand and upon posting expand the shorthand to its full word. Been coming here 3 years now and a few rides through me off every once an awhile, but restaurants, I have to stop and think, what park are we talking about, what places are there to eat there that matches that abbreviation, and even then its some place I haven't tried yet so I don't even think its real

I was reading a thread on the restaurants board earlier. Someone referred to the restaurant as CM. It took me a minute to remember I was reading about Cape May instead of Chef Mickey's with reference to the crab legs!

 

[kangamangus]

As an RN my whole life is abbreviations.....everything...CHF, COPD, IV, HTN, .....so it's normal for me to read abbreviations all the time...than I have 6 kids so they are always sending me texts with abbreviations....in fact now I see abbreviations in almost everything....even when they are not!

 

[smadath]

My frustration with the abbreviations isn't that I have to learn them, but that some of them are impossible to SEARCH for. Makes it harder than it needs to be. But I accept my opinion will not change anything - it's become somewhat of a 'status' symbol to 'know the code'.

G

Agreed. I don't mind them, but I do get frustrated when I go to the Glossery like a good little DISer, and it's not listed there!

 

[Ambear]

I never understood the family ones either. I read them in my head as the letters which sounds dumb. But I guess they're common on other forums too so meh.

 

[bellanotte10]

These threads pop up every so often... And it never changes. I have a giant book at my desk filled with common acronyms and initialisms used in the military. That's right.. A giant book.

I'm used to initialisms, and while it took me a while to get used to it here, like it did for my job... I finally figured it out. Figured it was just part of the community like it was for my job.