A FAQ of the Egyptologists' Electronic Forum.
(1) Internet conventions
Some special signs and abbreviations are current on the Internet:
* "smileys" = symbols to give intonation to what is written (so-called "emoticons"),
to convey how the writer means something. Basically they are little faces
turned 90 degrees. Most often they indicate a bit of archness, irony,
sarcasm, tease or fun, i.e. they spell "written with a smile":
:-) ;-) :) ;) ;> :> :-P :-D etc.
The same effect have <g> or <G> for "written with a grin". Other smileys can convey disappointment, dismay or sadness:
:-< :-( :( etc.
Many variations are possible. Even though you perhaps do not feel
like using them yourself, it is important to know the concept of smileys,
as it often makes a lot of difference whether something is written with
or without one. In that spirit: be careful with humor and sarcasm, if you
do not add a smiley then it is easy for a remark meant to be funny
to be misinterpreted...
* Abbreviations for common phrases used on the Net:
AFAIK = as far as I know
AFAICS = as far as I can see
AFAICT = as far as I can tell
BTW = by the way
CUL8R = see you later
FAQ = frequently asked questions
FWIW = for what it's worth
FYI = for your information
HTH = hope this helps
IIRC = if I recall correctly...
IMO = in my opinion
IMHO = in my humble/honest opinion
IMNSHO = in my not so humble opinion [indicating: this is simply the way it is]
IOW = in other words
ISTR = I seem to recall/remember
IRL = in real life
JM2c = just (putting in) my two cents [indicating: it's just a thought/suggestion, so please do not kill me over it :)]
LMK = let me know
LOL = laughing out loud [equivalent smiley: :)) etc.]
OTOH = on the one/other hand
WRT = with respect to
YMMV = your mileage may vary [indicating: this is the procedure I use to do
something, but YMMV if you use it]
* Not specific for the Net, but quite useful for when you want to
point someone to reference material that could be of use to him/her,
but which you cannot recommend at first hand, or when you want
to indicate in a quote that this typo or incorrect bit of information
was in your source and is not due to an error of yours:
(non vidi) = I have not seen this article/book myself, only quotes from it or references to it
(sic) = it really is written as I am quoting; I am quoting verbatim
(2) General Egyptological Abbreviations in common use:
(3) Bibliographical Abbreviations
See our seperate Bibliographical Abbreviations page.