Attack of the Abbreviations

After reading a recent topic I got quite discouraged at the exorbitant use of abbreviations. Many times I had to pause while reading a post to try and figure out what someone is talking about. I mean really, does it take that much time out of our lives to write out a word?

Now I'm not saying the use of these things is bad, but let's try and limit how many we use. For arguments sake lets take this. Last week I went to KBF headed for GR followed by MR, J, SS, and B. I didn't get to ride PP so I went to SFMM and rode V, X, G, R, DV, RR, B, GR, and C.

So many sentences are starting to look like this recently and it really looks stupid. Well I for one am hoping to see the day that people will write things like: Wicked Twister, Knott's Berry Farm, Shivering Timbers, Superman: The Escape, and Batman Knight Flight.

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LONG LIVE ARROW DYNAMICS!!

Why write out those long names like Six Flags Worlds of Adventure, Six Flags Great Adventure and so on? It's a lot easier to just use SFWoA or SFGAd. They arn't that hard to remember. And, I've never seen anyone abbreviate name like Viper with V or anything like that. I would also hope that someone would actually spell out X! ;)

I think that if its been spelled out earlier in the thread than its fine to abbreviate it, but if you just pull a coaster out of no where and abbreviate it and expect people to know what you're talking about the at least have the decency to not act like you're being asked to take over Atlas's job when someone asks you to explain.

btw, what's B and GR in the Magic Mountain string of rides and B in the Knott's?

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-Bob (formerly Coaster Jedi)
Knott's Berry Farm Cuba ~South Park
"Your proctologist called, he found your head!" ~Jerry "The King" Lawler

Batman, Goldrusher, and Boomerang.

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"Hello to Yogi, Hello to Booboo, Hello to Scooby Doo. Barney and Fred say hi..." --King's Dominion's Singing Mushrooms

Why write out a world like Six Flags Worlds of Adventure when most people know that SFWoA means the same thing? Life is too short, but mostly I'm just lazy.

I absolutely agree that it can be hard, especially for the beginner to know what anyone is talking about. I even find myself scratching my head quite a bit at some of the abbreviations. In a world where people can't even take the time to spell out the word "you", or "are" why would anyone be surprised?
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The word "definitely" is definitely the most misspelled word on the buzz.

Most people do spell out you and why, it is park and coasters that are abreviated. Who wants to type six flags every time they are talking about a sf park, certainly not me. I agree, it can be hard, but you catch on, I some how did.

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www.geocities.com/tycoonkingdom

Today I could not figure out that tfc was the flying coaster and I still cant figure out what 'ap' is. Please someone help.

context clues will usually give it away...even if I said Viper, it wouldn't help much unless I told you what park....a glossary might not be a bad idea for the "suggestions" page...

I spell out the name if it is just one word. I sometimes will spell out the rides name the first time and abb. the rest

If you can't figure something out, why not just ask, such as Revolutionary did?
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You are bold, but are you also...daring?

abreviations are hard to understad, espacially for newbies like me :)

a gloassary is a good idea :)

You guys are kidding right?

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Def Leppard - "X" - June 2002.

No they are not kidding. In moderation these abbreviations are fine, but when overused the seriously affect the readability of a post. I personally have closed posts when I see that they are filled with abbreviations.

UCKAAYDIMA

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You crazy kids and all your darn instant messaging abbreviations

Well, if this comes across rude, you will get over it! Seriously though if you want to 'play the game' so to speak, you have to learn the language. I'm a scientist by training and all we *do* is speak in abbreviations/acronyms. You'd never hear someone in the communications field speak of radio detecting and ranging system. They'd simply refer to the radar. You'd never hear in the semiconductor world someone cutting a die with a light amplicfication by stimulated emission or radiation device. They'd just say cut it with a laser. And you'd *sure* never heard a genetics worker refer to deoxyribonucleic acid. They'd simply say DNA.

Every industry/group/hobby etc has it's own 'jargon'. If you wish to join that group, you have to learn. Is it sometimes difficult? Yeah! There are even times when I dont know what the hell people are talking about (like the whole LotR things...which has NOTHING to do with amusement parks anyway...). But when in doubt, ask. Just try to remember for next time mm'kaaay?
lata,
jeremy
--who is reminded of a proverb: "When in Rome..."

bill, assuming Cartman voice: but Mr. Mackey, that's a heck of a lot to remember, especially with my ADD....

guys, please keep in mind I do this solely for entertainment purposes and intend to offend as little as possible...

Check out the first definition of Jargon from Websters:

Main Entry: 1jar·gon
Pronunciation: 'jär-g&n, -"gän
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French
Date: 14th century
1 a : confused unintelligible language b : a strange, outlandish, or barbarous language or dialect c : a hybrid language or dialect simplified in vocabulary and grammar and used for communication between peoples of different speech
2 : the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group
3 : obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words

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"Looks like you've been missing quite a bit of work lately"
"Well, I wouldn't say I've been MISSING it, Bob."

Dear Too Hostile - I agree with you one hundred percent. In my humble opinion abbreviations are a part of our community's vernacular and, while it might be difficult at first to figure some of them out, it does get easier with time. The internet is full of abbreviatons, too, so anyone who has internet access should be used to seeing things abbreviated, like World Wide Web and so on. Plus how many times do we see such common abbreviated sayings such as "Laughing Out Loud" [or On Line], Rolling On The Floor Laughing, In My Humble Opinion, and If I Recall Correctly, just for examples.

I don't think abbreviating words has anything to do with being rude, lazy, uneducated, etcetera. It is just a part of life.

Matthew - who purposely did not use any abbreviations in this post so everyone could understand.

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2002 - the year of Indiana Beach's Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh on 4/5/2002. ***

I agree that abbreviations are a part of the internet, and this community. But they are meant for commonly used terms and expressions. IMO I dont think they should used when discussing a coaster that the majority of us wont know. Messages boards like this to allow us to share our thoughts with people who have similar interests. But if you writing posts that most of the people on this board wont understand, who are you writing them for?

I dont think we should be shooting for the lowest common denominator here. For the most part this crowd is well educated in the topic of coasters. But I do think people are using abbreviations at appropriate times.

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"Looks like you've been missing quite a bit of work lately"
"Well, I wouldn't say I've been MISSING it, Bob."

One thing I had completely forgotten about, until I read an article about computer keyboards yesterday, was how many hunt-and-peck typists there still are. Considering that I can probably type several sentences in the time that it takes someone to hunt and peck out Six Flags World of Adventure, and it makes perfect sense why people abbreviate.

I also see Hostyl's point of view. I'm in the sound business, and there are a ton of abbreviations.
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The word "definitely" is definitely the most misspelled word on the buzz.