to really, REALLY hate the acronyms here?

[miseriecorde]

They don't make even the most convoluted anecdote any less confusing and they're cutesy nonsense. I've never called anyone "dear" in my life and I doubt most of the people here have either unless they're over 60.

Why do they persist? It just seems like a really embarassing fad that somehow stuck and has become a weird calling card of mumsnet. It literally takes seconds to type "oldest son" or "partner" instead of "DS1" or "DP" and it just sounds so much nicer and more human.

On a positive note, it does amuse me to picture everyone's family as R2D2 type robots with these little code names.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

I find it easier to read actually.

When you Look at the post you can see it immediately, it's much quicker scan the text.

[Fink]

DD, DS, DH, AIBU etc are initialisms because you say the initial letters rather than forming a word. YANBU could be an acronym if you pronounced it as such.

I am definitely going to be pronouncing it yanbu in my head from now on. A great rhyme for bamboo if I ever write a really weird poem.

[PondLifeinLondon]

If you don't like them don't use them, pretty simple really.

[Kleinzeit]

DS may seem complicated but it's not just "son" it's "my son". And DS1 is a lot quicker to write and clearer to read than "my oldest son" or inventing names. You still have to sort out DS10 (10 years old) from DS1 (oldest) but nothing's perfect.

WFH is common usage. See, you're getting sucked in too.....

[Ivy79]

I find it a bit weird too though it doesn't bother me massively.

I have been using the internet for almost 20 years, and I used to go on a message forum some 15-16 years ago, and they used to say DH, DP, DD, DGS1, and DGS2, and so on, so it goes back to the early days of message forums from the turn of the century.

I think for many it is easier than saying husband, partner, daughter, grandson 1, and grandson 2 etc. But as has been said, it is odd when someone says my DP has been abusing me, because it's like 'why call him DEAR then?!'

But yeah, when people say Ddog and Dniece it's ridiculous. It actually looks so daft.

Some abbreviations are confusing though. DSIL - sister-in-law? son-in-law? DF - father or fiancé? BF - boyfriend or best friend?

This ^ I think it would be better if people just started writing the proper word(s) because as some people have said on here, it can be confusing, with DF meaning dear father or dear fiance, and BF meaning best friend or boyfriend, and so on. And when I see GP, is it grandparents or general practitioner?

But I don't see people dropping the acronym game anytime soon, as so many people have got into the habit over so many years.

[echt]

OP, sorry, Original Poster, go to another site that has posters who write in complete words.

Or just write the complete word yourself. It's not an (MN)mumsnet rule, merely a convenience.

How exercised do you get about ASAP//NB/RSVP? Not at all is my guess.

Mumsnet is just a smaller version of this code.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

I dislike posts with invented names.

[Ceto]

If you REALLY hate it, why are you still on here? The internet is a big place, there are plenty of alternatives.

[Kleinzeit]

I pronounce AIBU as a single word. And YABVU.

[Maudlinmaud]

I find myself using them in real life now. But only in my head.

[banivani]

miseriecorde (great username) - ROFL - to use a genuine acronym ;)

I think they're ridiculous too, and execute my Jobs-given right to not use them ;) They are quite common on the Internet, esp on parenting/mum forums per tradition, but in my opinion that tradition stems from saccarine-loving American places where women wear pantyhose and are, if not actually card-carrying Quivering Christians, definitely close. Unless you actually mean it at the moment of writing it, why would you? It's absolutely very intense here. I think I saw it on an American baby name forum a lot back around 2002 or so.

[QuinionsRainbow]

Many have the SAME acronyms

I bet only MN has "ddog"!

[Nanny0gg]

What's a 'genuine' acronym?

[dratsea]

Only possible advice - LTB

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

NICE is a genuine acronym.

[ZippyCameBack]

I don't tend to use them but they don't annoy me. The only one I find difficult is DH, because I always read it as Dick Head.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

Also COBRA.

[TonicAndTonic]

YAB a bit U. Some of them are bit irritating but others are right that most aren't exclusive to MN. It's much easier when you are typing a post on a touchscreen rather than a keyboard. Any group of people who spend a lot of time communicating with each other will evolve a style of speaking/writing.

It is annoying when people use the same acronym in different ways though - I read a thread the other day where the OP had used 'DS' to mean their sister, where its more normally used to mean a son. That just got really confusing!

[CakesRUs]

Yeah, they're annoying. I've not seen this elsewhere in 20 years on the web. I wonder if you actually wrote "son" if you'd be slapped down for it?i

[64PooLane]

Surely nobody really means the D to be read as the full words "dear" or "darling". How could they, when MN as a whole is so disinclined to sentimentality and tweeness? It's shorthand with an underpinning of irony.

Dcat/Dhamster/whatever strike me as tongue-in-cheek/self-aware as well. Doesn't bother me, although it probably would if the site as a whole was more sparkly and ribbony.

[TonicAndTonic]

But yeah, when people say Ddog and Dniece it's ridiculous. It actually looks so daft

It's interesting, a lot of people on MN feel this way but to my mind 'DCat' is actually no more ridiculous than 'DSis'. I think there's no point in being selective about which ones are OK and which aren't, either go with the 'D' in front of things as per the MN/parenting forum convention, or avoid it altogether, surely?

[Mrsmadevans]

Yes Dear

[Mittens1969]

I agree about the D thing. Especially as people say DNiece or DHorse. IF YOU'RE SPELLING OUT THE WORD YOU DON'T NEED TO ADD D

Oh and DSTBXH. If he's soon to be your ex-husband he probably isn't that dear now is he

100% this! I’ll have to start referring to my 4 DCats now. Except that it’s not exactly shorthand, is it lol???

[battenbergbutterfly]

People who are replying 'perhaps the internet is not for you' or 'have you just gained access to the internet' are absolute dsmugtwats

[SomewhatIdiosyncratic]

DS is most commonly used to mean (dear) son. Dsis is clearer as it is less likely that the poster would be referring to their sister.

There have been threads where I've been confused about context because the abbreviation has multiple meanings, and the dominant one initially makes sense, but turns out to be a lesser used meaning.

DF/ BF are most likely to confuse me.

When I joined the site, it took a little while to settle into the writing style and adapt it from previous forums that I used.