INSTANT MESSAGING

Instant Messaging is real-time communication that uses an online client (usually AIM) to allow two or more people to type messages to each other online and receive an immediate response (as opposed to email where you must wait for a response.) Many people call it "chatting" but chat usually describes conversations that occur in a chat room. To be able to IM someone, you must have that person's name on your buddy list. It would be difficult for strangers to guess your IM name provided you pick a safe one- one that does not give any information that describes you and that is not your real name. Instant Messaging has a language all its own. It's also used for texting. Listed below are some popular abbreviations that your child may use when instant messaging their friends. There are quite a few others that are not appropriate for this site because of improper language. If you see an abbreviation that you do not know the meaning of, check the site listed at the bottom of the page.

Abbreviation Meaning
AAS Alive and smiling
ADN Any day now
AEAP As early as possible
AFAIK As far as I know
AKA Also known as
AISB As it should be
AOTA All of the above
ASAP As soon as possible
A/S/L Age/sex/location
ATB All the best
ATM At the moment
AYEC At your earliest convenience
B/F Boyfriend
B4 Before
B/C Because
B4N Bye for now
BAK Back at keyboard
BAU Business as usual
BBIAF Be back in a few
BBIAM Be back in a minute
BBL Be back later
BCNU Be seein' you
BF Best friend or boyfriend
BFN Bye for now
BM&Y Between me and you
BO Brain Overload
BOL Best of luck
BRB Be right back
BTW By the way
BYKT But you knew/know that
CMIIW Correct me if I'm wrong
CMON Come on
CU See you
CUA See you around
CUL or CUL8R See you later
CWYL Chat with you later
CYA See ya
CYO See you online
D/L Download
DEGT Don't even go there
DIKU Do I know you?
DTS Don't think so
EG Evil grin
EMA E-mail address
F Female
FAQ Frequently asked Question
F2F Face to face
FBM Fine by me
FC Fingers crossed
FIIOOH Forget it. I'm out of here.
FITB Fill in the blank
FOMCL Falling off my chair laughing
FITB Fill in the blank
FRT For real though
FWIW For what it's worth
FYEO For your eyes only
FYI For your information
G/F Girlfriend
G2G Got to go
G2R Got to run
GAL Get a life
GB Goodbye
GJ Good Job
GL Good Luck
GFI Go for it
GG Gotta Go or Good Game
GIAR Give it a rest
GL Good luck
GL/HF Good luck, have fun
GMTA Great minds think alike
GOL Giggling out loud
GTG Got to go
GTRM Going to read mail
HAGN Have a good night
HAGO Have a good one
H&K Hug and kiss
HAND Have a nice day
HF Have fun
HHIS Head hanging in shame
HOAS Hold on a second
HRU How are you?
HTH Hope this helps
IAC In any case
IB I'm back
IBK Idiot behind keyboard
IC I see
ICBW It could be worse
IDK I don't know
IDTS I don't think so
IG2R I got to run
IIRC If I remember correctly
ILBL8 I'll be late
ILU I love you
ILY I love you
IM Instant message
IMHO In my humble opinion
IMNSHO In my not so humble opinion
IMO In my opinion
IOW In other words
IRL In real life
IRMC I rest my case
IUSS If you say so
IYKWIM If you know what I mean
IYO In your opinion
IYSS If you say so
JAC Just a sec
JIK Just in case
JJA Just joking around
JK Just kidding
JMO Just my opinion
KISS Keep it simple, stupid
KIT Keep in touch
KOTC Kiss on the cheek
KNIM Know what I mean?
L8R Later
LD Later, dude / Long distance
LMK Let me know
LOL Laughing out loud
LTM Laugh to myself
LTNS Long time no see
LYLAB Love you like a brother
LYLAS Love you like a sister
M Male
MorF Male or female?
MUSM Miss you so much
MYOB Mind Your Own Business
NBD No big deal
NIMBY Not in my back yard
NLT No later than
NM Nothing much / Never mind
NMH Not much here
NE1 Anyone
NOYB None of your business
NP No problem
NRN No response/reply necessary
NW No way
OIC Oh, I see
OMG Oh my Gosh/ God
OO Over and out
OOH Out of here
OOTD One of these days
OTB Off to bed
OTOH On the other hand
OTT Over the top
OTTOMH Off the top of my head
OTW Off to work
PDQ Pretty darn quick
PLMK Please let me know
PLZ Please
PMFI Pardon me for interrupting
PMFJI Pardon me for jumping in
POAHF Put on a happy face
POS Parent over shoulder
PPL People
PRW People/parents are watching
PTL Praise the Lord
PXT Please explain that
PU That stinks!
QIK Quick
QT Cutie
RL Real life
RME Rolling my eyes
ROTFL or ROFL Rolling on the floor laughing
RSN Real soon now
SICNR Sorry, I could not resist
SIG2R Sorry, I got to run
SMHID Scratching my head in disbelief
SOMY Sick of me yet?
SPK Speak
SPST Same place, same time
SOTMG Short of time, must go
SRY Sorry
SS So sorry
SSDD Same stuff, different day
SSINF So stupid it's not funny
STR8 Straight
STW Search the Web
SUITM See you in the morning
SUL See you later
SUP What's up?
SWAK Sealed with a kiss
SYL See you later
TA Thanks a lot
TAFN That's all for now
TAM Tomorrow a.m.
TC Take care
TGIF Thank God it's Friday
THX Thanks
TIA Thanks in advance
TIAD Tomorrow is another day
TLC Tender loving care
TLK2UL8R Talk to you later
TMI Too much information
TMWFI Take my word for it
TNSTAAFL There's no such thing as a free lunch
TPM Tomorrow p.m.
TPTB The powers that be
TTFN Ta ta for now
TTTT These things take time
TTYL Talk to you later
TTYS Talk to you soon
TU Thank you
TY Thank you
TYT Take your time
TYVM Thank you very much
UGTBK You've got to be kidding
UKTR You know that's right
UR Your / You're
UV Unpleasant visual
UW You're welcome
VIP Very important person
Y Yawning
WAM Wait a minute
WAN2TLK Want to talk
WAYF Where are you from?
WB Welcome back
WBS Write back soon
WIIFM What's in it for me?
WK Week
WKD Weekend
WTG Way to go
WTH What the heck?
WU? What's up?
WUCIWUG What you see is what you get
WUF? Where are you from?
WWJD What would Jesus do?
WWYC Write when you can
WYSIWYG What you see is what you get
YBS You'll be sorry
YGBKM You gotta be kidding me
YMMV Your mileage may vary
YW You're welcome
ZZZZZ You're boring me

Another Instant Messaging Abbreviation site to use as a reference is:
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp
(Thank you to webopedia for allowing us to use this link to their site- Used with permission http://www.webopedia.com)

BACK TO INTERNET SAFTEY