iirc?

[spencer]

What in the name of all that is holy does that mean? Yes, I am old, so please don't laugh at me too hard. Thanks in advance.

[thingirl]

I actualy don't know that one. However, Isn't Google wonderful? (http://www.acronymfinder.com/IIRC.html) IIRC can mean many things, and some of the ones more likely to be used on this forum are:

If I Recall/Remember Correctly
If I Read Correctly
If It Really Counts
If I Recollect Correctly
Isn't It Really Cool

[spencer]

Well, TG, thanks, and repped for trying, but I am even more confused...please help...I guess the most likely is If I remember correctly...then why wouldn't it be IIrc, hmmm?

[thingirl]

Ehh, maybe they just don't care about capitalization. Or maybe everybody mean "if it really counts". Then "iirc" would actually be correct capitalization.

[Doolipalally]

Feeling guilty now, cos I know I use this one. Sorry, Spencer! I use it to mean 'if I recall corrrectly', and it's all lower case, well, just because it is...

I do have a rule of thumb about the acronyms that I know: if you type the acronym into Google and it comes up with the answer without you having to click further then I use it. If not, then I refrain or explain.

[spencer]

Thanks, dooli. I have seen it on other forums as well and now I know, so you get a rep from me.

[Badstench]

Truth be told, I dislike acronyms... mainly because, like Spencer, I end up thinking, "Huh?"

So I dreamed up an acronym to describe how I feel about acronyms: "I hate acronyms to extremis"!

[demojan777]

I had one I came up with at a job that became part of the training manual for "commonly used acronyms", often used to describe customers that drive you crazy:

PITA = Pain In The A**

I still call things a "PITA" and people who don't understand (which now, since I don't work at that job anymore, is anyone except me) look at me funny until I explain, but sometimes I don't feel like explaining so I mumble something about sandwiches and filafels.

[texlaw1992]

Just remember that acronyms are not supposed to contain the word or words which make up the acronym. Badstench's "I hate" is technically not an acronym because the words "I hate" are contained within the words which make up the acronym.

[Oldschool]

I don't use many but a few I do and iirc is one that I use and more frequently than I should I admit. Like Dooli I use it for "if I recall (remember) correctly" but until I got familiar with it's use I had no clue either.

Why people don't capitalize it or others that they should? Imo ;) (another one I use sometimes - In my opinion) "ease" of use. They're being used as shortcuts to type quicker so why capitalize. I think they really become popular with cell phones - no real keyboards.

I like Dooli's "rule" of googling just the acronym itself. And just for giggles when I googled iirc the first result was Illinois Interactive Report Card - lol.

[Young Ned]

Yes, IIRC commonly means "if I recall/remember correctly". Other common ones around the internet:

IMO - In my opinion
IMHO - In my humble opinion
IMNSHO - In my not so humble opinion

LOL, LMAO, ROFL -- I'm sure you're all familiar with these and various combinations of them.

PITA - pain in the arse/a$$ (this is a pretty common one, actually; I first saw it years ago)

RTFM - the clean interpretation is "read the fine manual" ;)

OMG - oh my god

WTF - what the fred? ;)

BBQ - barbecue

I choose to capitalize them because [a] that's how I learned them, and acronyms just are!

And an acronym that contains itself is not illegal, it's a recursive acronym (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronym) (from the computer programming technique of recursion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursion)). One of the better known examples are the GNU Utilities -- freeware versions of various Unix programs -- where GNU (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU) stands for "GNU's Not Unix".

Oh, and most of these were around [B]long before cell phones. Trust me -- I was around long before cell phones. :) Most of them probably originated on the old pre-Internet BBS's (Bulletin Board Systems).

[texlaw1992]

I did not say that an acronym which contains itself (recursive) is illegal, only that it's not a true acronym.

Years ago when we first moved to Texas, we were in an area with no synagogue. My parents decided to get the local Jewish population together in a meeting group and arrived at the acronym "J.E.W.S.," which stood for "Jews Existing in the Woodlands and Surroundings." All of us agreed that it was not a "true" acronym since it used the word "jews," but it was successful.

In short, my point is grammatical only. Even recursive acronyms can work in the real world.

[Oldschool]

Oh, and most of these were around long before cell phones. Trust me -- I was around long before cell phones. :) Most of them probably originated on the old pre-Internet BBS's (Bulletin Board Systems).

Good point Young Ned as I fondly remember the BBS's. Well most of it fondly definitely not those ________ download times - lol. Although I wasn't that into it IIRC (nah - sorry doesn't work for me like iirc ;)) the BBS's were also where leetspeak got it's start.

Still I think the abbreviations quickly increased and "maintreamed" with cellphones to the point we are now at.

Jm1/50$...... ;)

My hybrid version of "Just my two cents....." :cool:

[texlaw1992]

I remember them well. While I was never a SYSOP (System Operator, another neat and "true" acronym), I was pretty active in the local BBS community at the time. I even threw a party once and many of the local major users and SYSOPS came. I even had a tentative RSVP (hey, another great "true acronym) from Richard Garriot (of ULTIMA fame - not sure I spelled his last name right), but he couldn't make it. I didn't do much with BBS' after college graduation, but ah, those 300 bps downloads were so much fun.

[spencer]

I am just surprised that thingirl has not posted more under this top..I am sure she has a few to add to the list :p

[thingirl]

I am just surprised that thingirl has not posted more under this top..I am sure she has a few to add to the list :p

ODTM...Oh, don't tempt me...