You better be as a short telegraphic form of conversation has become the standard for chat, discussion forum and e-mail messages. Even the SMS message in your mobile phone follows it !

E-mail is still the most popular Internet medium for communication. However, it certainly is not the only one or the best one - there are now alternatives which are possibly better. Chat, ICQ, Instant messages are becoming more and more popular. And why not, look at the convenience and economics associated ! You can freely communicate without bothering about foreign accent, noise/echo in telephone line, confusion over similar sounding words (hotmail and hot-male), drawl, voice tone, etc etc at a cost negligible compared to long distance telephone call. Business negotiation over instant message or one-to-one chat line has already started and it is matter of time before your Net savvy buyer/supplier invites you for a 'chat session'.

If you are new to Internet lingo, its time you start learning it. This week, we compile a small list of VFU jargons -
Very Frequently Used - you silly ;-)

AFK - Away From the Keyboard
ASAP - As Soon As Possible
BRB - Be Right Back
BTW - By The Way
F2F - Face To Face
FYI - For Your Information
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
J/K - Just Kidding
LOL - Laugh Out Loud
ROTFL - Roll Over The Floor Laughing
RTFM - Read The F*@#ing Manual

More...

ppl People
pls Please
tnx Thanks
ic I See
:-) Smile
:-D Laugh
:-] Smirk
:-( Frown
;-) Wink
:-X Close Mouth
8-) Wide Eyed
:-0 Open Mouthed


In addition, watch following conventions while in chat session:

• Never use CAPITAL letters unless you intend to shout

• Do not hang out in a chat session, join in the discussion. If you do, people might label you a 'larker'

• Please tell everyone if you are leaving a chat room. This reduces confusion of having to ask for you over and over again

• If you suddenly get disconnected, the first thing you do on joining the chat room is to announce 'sorry, got dc' (dc is disconnected).