To find all the DS/DD/DM/DF etc frustrating?

[MissClarke86]

Very light hearted post here and I am 7 weeks pregnant so likely just being a hormonal grump, but all the abbreviations to refer to family members drive me mad! It takes me longer to work out what means what than it would for the person to just type "mum", "son" etc. Many of them are only one letter longer than writing DM/ DS and it doesn't require a caps lock press!! I know that it's not that hard to figure out really, but they always look so similar that I do have to pause and think about it and it affects the flow of anything I'm reading.

It's even worse when trying to figure out long stories about step families, and also figuring out the differences between DSs (sisters) and DSs (sons).

Why do we insist on abbreviations for EVERYTHING here?

IDK

It used to irritate me when I first joined but, like the Borg, I have been assimilated.

HTH

TSSDNCOP

HTH
TTFN

I don't know what IDK or HTH mean either! The other abbreviations don't irk me as much because they're not so similar.

Is IDK - I don't know?

Okay I was asking for that

Just maintain your own high standards and set an example, Original Poster.

I don't mind DS and DD

DM, DF (which can mean friend, father or fiancé) and DMIL/DBIL are annoying.

DDog is bonkers!

It used to be very common in lots of forums- it's not a mumsnet thing. It's quicker to type- especially on a non keyboard phone!- and don't caps lock, just hold shift!

It does my head in too.

DDog tips me over the edge.

I agree with you, OP. My response is just not to use them myself - they're not compulsory and no-one seems to care.

You just get used to it. It's not just Mumsnet that used ds and so on.

99.9% of posts are about Mother-in Laws so that's a saving on your typing right there!

I've been on here for years and haven't been assimilated. I still think they are ridiculous and have never yet used them.

I agree with you, OP. My response is just not to use them myself

But OP is the acceptable face of abbreviation .

Yeah, I sometimes give up when the first paragraph is:

'So, me and my DP live with DD1, SDD1 SDD2 and DS2. My DS1 lives with my ex-DH and his new DP, who also has a DD12.

There's no law about caps, I don't use them. And dd is a lot easier than than repeating 'my daughter' a few times both from a writing point of view and also for reading it.

They're not compulsory.

Stick around as long as I have and you will find yourself using them in conversation.

DDog tips me over the edge.

I may have once seen DFish.

Mumsnet didn't invent those acronyms, they've been around on many Internet forums for a long time

Mumsnet didn't invent them, but they seem to occur in greater density than on some other sites.

Probably because many of the posts on here involve a convoluted web of in-laws, exes, step-siblings, and so on.

I don't use them myself, I just write daughter or husband etc.
it does annoy me when I don't know what some of them mean, I can usually work it out because of the context but sometimes I have no idea and have to google it!!

I agree with you, OP. My response is just not to use them myself

God yes. It's like reading algebra sometimes. I was just wondering this morning whether I would be vilified for just writing son.

It's only confusing when some posters say e.g. dd4 and mean that the daughter they are referring to is 4 years old when i have always taken it to mean the 4th daughter. Today I read dd12 and did a quick

They make my brain hurt.

I used to hate them but now find myself using DH, DD and sometimes DS. Some are quicker to type on a phone, but some drive me mad - I'd rather just write mum or dad than make it longer by typing DDad or DMum. Then there is confusion - GP can mean grandparents, a doctor or a gentle parent depending on context.

I know many people use Mumsnet on a phone these days, but when all these acronyms were invented in the early days of forums surely it was much quicker to type the word?