[NTLK] ICYMI, NTLK, &c. [Re: AA battery trays]

[Dennis Swaney]

Acronyms should not be used in anything WITHOUT first spelling out the
acronymized phrase at the first use. For example, in this message,

"That being said, NTLK (see what I did there?) does not have a specific
policy over the use (or overuse) of acronyms and other textual shortcuts.

"Any community (physical or virtual) can expect some "bickering" … NTLK is
no exception. Part of my "job" as the list dad is to monitor these types of
interactions and step in where necessary. In this case, someone's temper
flared momentarily, but was brought back under control within two messages.
If the discussion had remained heated (or had escalated into being
abusive), I would have pulled the involved parties off the list immediately
and addressed the situation directly with them.",

the line should read "...Newton Talk (NTLK)..."  (or NewtonTalk?) at the
first use.

Doing so establishes WHICH phrase is meant by the acronym used and avoids
confusion. A good example is the acronym "SAC" which can mean: Strategic
Air Command, Special Agent in Charge, Supreme Allied Commander, the
Sacramento Executive Airport code, etc.

Of course there are some long time acronyms that have become well known:
AWOL, RADAR, LASER & MASER, etc.

Last, since an acronym is defined by it being pronounced as a word, NTLK,
ICYMI, LOL, YMMV, and so on are NOT acronyms; rather they are examples of
initialism <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/initialism> (though
NTLK doesn't meet that definition either).



Sincerely,
Dennis B. Swaney

"I think, therefore I Mac"

On Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 7:36 AM, Grant Hutchinson <
newtontalkmessages at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> > On Jan 31, 2018, at 6:42 PM, William James <whjames67 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > What is ICYMI?
>
> In case you missed it ...
>
> <https://newrepublic.com/article/117886/icymi-internet-
> acronym-destroying-our-conception-time>
>
>
> > Why can't people responding, just use English?
>
> Acronyms have been part of online culture since the beginning, but have
> proliferated over the past decade of social media sputum. I agree that
> clarity should take precedence over the use obscure abbreviations.
>
> That being said, NTLK (see what I did there?) does not have a specific
> policy over the use (or overuse) of acronyms and other textual shortcuts.
>
>
> > I would expect the cursing and bickering from the Mac community (the
> mainly child driven 68k MLA, although there are genesis there), but not
> from the Newtons?
>
> Any community (physical or virtual) can expect some "bickering" … NTLK is
> no exception. Part of my "job" as the list dad is to monitor these types of
> interactions and step in where necessary. In this case, someone's temper
> flared momentarily, but was brought back under control within two messages.
> If the discussion had remained heated (or had escalated into being
> abusive), I would have pulled the involved parties off the list immediately
> and addressed the situation directly with them.
>
> In most cases, these situations sort themselves out.
>
> g.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Grant Hutchinson
> NewtonTalk List Dad & Web Custodian
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> http://newtontalk.net/
> http://twitter.com/newtontalk