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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Mumsnet acronyms...

32 replies

Bananabread123 · 14/12/2016 07:46

AIBU to think I can't keep up and they're continued proliferation creates a clique like mentality, and that MN itself is the worst culprit! I know there's an acronym list but half of them aren't on there. Just now a thread got deleted with a MN message about it being a PBP.... No idea what that is!

OP posts:
Original poster
Bananabread123 · 14/12/2016 07:47

Their not they're!

OP posts:
ShakeofFara · 14/12/2016 07:48

PBP - previously banned poster.

c3pu · 14/12/2016 07:49

YANBU IMHO.

givemegravyonemoretime · 14/12/2016 07:58

YABU. Every community develops linguistic shortcuts to make communication easier. It's not about a clique.

The MN acronyms can almost always be found through Google or just asking on the thread, imo.

givemegravyonemoretime · 14/12/2016 07:59

Agh just did that without thinking, sorry. Not being intentionally passive aggressive! Imo= in my opinion.

(see!)

GreatPointIAgreeWithYouTotally · 14/12/2016 08:02

It can feel like code breaking at times.

My favourite is STBXH

Which I read as stupid bastard ex husband for ages until I realised it was soon to be ex husband.

Also GPs for grandparent, guinea pigs or GPs can be confusing.

AuntieStella · 14/12/2016 08:14

Of course it promotes a sense of community (or as you put it, creates a clique like mentality). That's the whole point!

And you'll see that it is totally normal for sites (not just MN) to have their own habits and ethos.

YANBU in deciding MN is not for you.

It's not compulsory to get on with any chat site in particular, and it is worth keeping up the hunt for one you feel comfortable with.

iamadaftcoo · 14/12/2016 08:19

They're not that difficult to decipher? Confused

TheMortificadosDragon · 14/12/2016 08:29

Well, TBF some of them are. e.g. TSSDNCOP (the secret service does not comment on procedure , which apparently is a West Wing reference). And some topics have their own specialist acronyms eg on The Archers discussions, TA does not mean teaching assistant, SW = scriptwriter and SATTC is 'shake Ambridge to their core' (that one can be found outside MN)

Original poster
Bananabread123 · 14/12/2016 08:30

They're not that difficult to decipher?

Ok, I suppose you're right... AAVSTUAT

OP posts:
TheGrandTourOfMyArse · 14/12/2016 08:32

The only one that confuses me is 'df' which could either mean friend, fiance or father and sometimes it's not completely clear which person they're referring to: "My df is demanding that I spend Christmas with him when I'd already arranged to spend it with my df. Aibu to say no? My df thinks so."

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 14/12/2016 08:39

Ditto the posters that have started using DS to mean sister, TheGrand. I've seen it twice this week. It's very confusing.

Don't mind new ones, but stop using the existing ones to mean something else.

AuntJane · 14/12/2016 08:42

DS3 can be either aged 3 or the third son, or possibly the third child (DS1, DD2, DS3). I saw DS11 yesterday, and it was the eleventh child.

Original poster
Bananabread123 · 14/12/2016 08:56

I've nothing against acronyms per se, and recognise they help create a community... it's their overuse to cover dozens, probably hundreds, of things. It's like a different language.

OP posts:
lilydaisyrose · 14/12/2016 08:57

I don't know what a Crepey is and would like to know. Also Wooly Hugs. Not acronyms, but confusing!

AuntieStella · 14/12/2016 08:59

"DS3 can be either aged 3 or the third son, or possibly the third child"

No.

DS3 = the third son
DS(3) = a son who is 3

hackmum · 14/12/2016 08:59

AuntJane - the convention is that DS3 is your third son and DS (3) is your three-year old son. Some Mumsnetters misuse the convention. Tsk.

meditrina · 14/12/2016 09:00

Crepey is a quiche in Style and Beauty which has been running for years, and is largely populated by those who grew up in and remember the 60s and 70s.

TheMortificadosDragon · 14/12/2016 09:03

And some of us have our own small alternate reality Grin

UnbornMortificado · 14/12/2016 09:05

I like them Blush

If you ever don't know what one is you just ask on the thread. That's what I used to do.

EastMidsMummy · 14/12/2016 09:05

I hate them and find them awkward and counter-intuitive to read and write. How is DS easier than "my son"?

Soubriquet · 14/12/2016 09:07

Wooly hugs is where a nice group of people are knitting blankets and things for children who have passed or stillborn. It's just a nice thing they do

And yabu. There is an acronym page you are that stuck AND most people are happy to answer if you ask nicely what something means

NavyandWhite · 14/12/2016 09:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NavyandWhite · 14/12/2016 09:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DisappointingBanana · 14/12/2016 09:13

BF is another wobbly one: breast feeding (or fed), best friend or boyfriend.

I remember some time ago where a poster had used DF to refer to 2 different people in the sane thread; one was her father, the other her friend!