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The FBI's Jargon List: Internet Acronyms Galore
Jason Koebler (3528235) writes Internet slang: Do you use it? If so, do it AYOR (at your own risk), because the FBI knows exactly what you're saying thanks to the agency's insane list of "Twitter shorthand." Rather than just rely on Urban Dictionary or a Google search, the agency has compiled an 83 page list of more than 2,800 acronyms. The FBI responded to a FOIA request with one of the most illegible scans of a document you'll ever see, embedded on a CD — so maybe the agency isn't all that up on its technology, or maybe it's just doing its best to KTAS (keep this a secret). Please use one of your favorites in a grammatical sentence referencing current events, and/or your favorite food, to help build up the corpus.
According to the list, one of the translations of BFF is Big Fat Friend. Stephen Lynch would be proud.
They are not allowed to use the Internet. It is not secure.
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
I grew up with this this list. It used to be on paper. That was kinda funny.
I'm sure every TLA or FLA in the US has a similar LOA.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
the Urban Dictionary says FBI can mean "Fucking Bunch of Idiots"
is my go-to source for internet shorthand. Any reason the FBI's too good to just use that?
Urban dictionary is edited by volunteers, and there are no real guidelines for entries. So, I suppose it could infiltrated by terrorists, who pose as submitters and editors to hide the true meaning of some internet abbreviations they are using to communicate about their next attack...??
(I'm being sarcastic here, but unfortunately knowing the U.S. government and current paranoia levels, this probably isn't far from their logic.)
'children' is a shorthand for US Citizens.
IMHO the article was TL;DR and IANAL so TINLA but OMFG. AFAIK the FBI CRAT. Hence they made a BFDB so they could tell their employees to RTFM.
Whenever a player quits EVE to go play WoW, the Average IQ of both games increase.
One reason is for long-term retention of data. They might store case files for 20+ years before someone sees them again, at which point the detective working the case might not know what all of the acronyms mean. I mean, it was one thing for the 70s to use words like groovy or tubular in common vernacular, but today's kids are using acronyms up the wazoo. It's only natural that some with become popular and just as quickly fade into obscurity.
However, if their database is wrong(translating BFF to Big Fat Friend for example), then it's kind of moot anyway. I mean, we would hope a detective wouldn't be standing there exclaiming "What the fuck does WTF mean!?" but that too is entirely possible if WTF goes away in a few years. But there are certainly more obscure acronyms and slang being used on the internet.
That said, their *source* for these kinds of definitions should be places like urban dictionary(especially urban dictionary!), because their entire purpose is to define commonly used terms you won't find in a standard dictionary.
Ever notice (with all the acronyms) how much language is looking more and more like PERL?
Ha, it's not even a complete list, everything is "matured-down" to kiddy levels!
For example, I was looking to see if DILLIGAF (Do I Look Like I Give A Fuck), but instead found DILLIGAD (Do I look like I give a darn).
Yea, it really says, "darn."
WTFIWWYM (What The Fuck Is Wrong With You Morons)?
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
They'll never catch me then. I speak a secret language called "Syntactically Correct American English", an archaic language no one understands any more.
One reason is for long-term retention of data. They might store case files for 20+ years before someone sees them again, at which point the detective working the case might not know what all of the acronyms mean. I mean, it was one thing for the 70s to use words like groovy or tubular in common vernacular, but today's kids are using acronyms up the wazoo. It's only natural that some with become popular and just as quickly fade into obscurity.
Reading old comics from the 60's, I caught on to most of the lingo slinging, but the word "Natch" confused me until just last year when I realized it was short for "naturally". And "hip" young characters like Johnny Storm or Spider-Man used to say "natch" a lot.
According to the FBI list, preferred expansion of LOL is "Lots of Love". Example usage inside the FBI complex: Your co-workers father has passed after a long illness. Suggested text message: "Heard your dad died: LOL."