FBI’s 83-Page Guide To Internet Slang Is Blowing People’s Minds

You might have left LMFAOing and ROFLing behind in your teenage years, but slang and the use of acronyms have undoubtedly become a big part of online conversations and comments with the rise of the internet.

Many people now only utter the phrase 'lol' when referring to something that is entirely the opposite of funny, or throw out a quick 'brb' to let colleagues know you're stepping away from the computer while working from home, but whatever the term or usage, chances are the FBI is on top of it.

That's down to an 83-page guide created by the agency, which thanks to a 2014 Freedom of Information request is now available online for all to see.

The list includes a lot of terms you probably will know, including BFF (Best Friends Forever), FAO (For the Attention Of) and ONO (Or Nearest Offer), but it's the more unusual terms that have really caught people's attention.

For example, after 25 years on Earth and more than a decade of internet usage, I can safely say I have never in my life seen anyone use the acronym ALOTBSOL to encourage someone to 'always look on the bright side of life'.

The same can be said for PMYMHMMFSWGAD (pardon me you must have mistaken me for someone who gives a damn) and WYLABOCTGWTR (would you like a bowl of cream to go with that remark?).

Would I? I honestly have no idea.

Thankfully I'm not the only one to be left baffled by the FBI's guide, and after news of its availability was shared online many internet users began to share confusion of their own.

Twitter users shared a screenshot of the guide on Twitter, including examples such as BTWITIAILWY (by the way I think I am in love with you) and MSR (Mulder Scully Romance), apparently in relation to The X-Files characters.

One Twitter user claimed it was 'literally faster to type the actual words than work out the acronym' for BTWITIAILWY, while another joked: "It’s like the FBI has been texting my Boomer Mom. She thinks you are supposed to just make up your own acronyms in text. Instead of using established ones, she’s all, “SYNS!” & you have to spend the next ten minutes trying to determine that she will see you next Saturday."

A third Twitter user questioned: "Who needs an acronym for 'eyeball'." It's EB, if you were wondering.

The list has been described by others as 'deliciously stupid' and 'too funny', so whether or not it really did assist the FBI in investigations, at least it's worked to provide us all with some entertainment.

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