talk mode
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 | This is the JargonFile (V4.00) entry for talk mode - Next: talker system, Prev: tail recursion |
| :talk mode: /n./ A feature supported by Unix, ITS, and some other OSes that allows two or more logged-in users to set up a real-time on-line conversation. It combines the immediacy of talking with all the precision (and verbosity) that written language entails. It is difficult to communicate inflection, though conventions have arisen for some of these (see the section on writing style in the Prependices for details). Talk mode has a special set of jargon words, used to save typing, which are not used orally. Some of these are identical to (and probably derived from) Morse-code jargon used by ham-radio amateurs since the 1920s.AFAIK as far as I knowBCNU be seeing youBTW by the wayBYE? are you ready to unlink? (this is the standard way to end a talk-mode conversation; the other person types BYE to confirm, or else continues the conversation)CUL see you laterENQ? are you busy? (expects ACK or NAK in return)FOO? are you there? (often used on unexpected links, meaning also "Sorry if I butted in ..." (linker) or "Whats up?" (linkee))FWIW for what its worthFYI for your informationFYA for your amusementGA go ahead (used when two people have tried to type simultaneously; this cedes the right to type to the other)GRMBL grumble (expresses disquiet or disagreement)HELLOP hello? (an instance of the -P convention)IIRC if I recall correctlyJAM just a minute (equivalent to SEC....)MIN same as JAMNIL no (see NIL)O over to youOO over and out/ another form of "over to you" (from x/y as "x over y")\ lambda (used in discussing LISPy things)OBTW oh, by the wayOTOH on the other handR U THERE? are you there?SEC wait a second (sometimes written SEC...)T yes (see the main entry for T)TNX thanksTNX 1.0E6 thanks a million (humorous)TNXE6 another form of "thanks a million"WRT with regard to, or with respect to.WTF the universal interrogative particle; WTF knows what it means?WTH what the hell?<double newline> When the typing party has finished, he/she types two newlines to signal that he/she is done; this leaves a blank line between speeches in the conversation, making it easier to reread the preceding text.<name>: When three or more terminals are linked, it is conventional for each typist to prepend his/her login name or handle and a colon (or a hyphen) to each line to indicate who is typing (some conferencing facilities do this automatically). The login name is often shortened to a unique prefix (possibly a single letter) during a very long conversation./\/\/\ A giggle or chuckle. On a MUD, this usually means earthquake fault. Most of the above sub-jargon is used at both Stanford and MIT. Several of these expressions are also common in email, esp. FYI, FYA, BTW, BCNU, WTF, and CUL. A few other abbreviations have been reported from commercial networks, such as GEnie and CompuServe, where on-line live chat including more than two people is common and usually involves a more social context, notably the following:<g> grin<gr&d> grinning, running, and duckingBBL be back laterBRB be right backHHOJ ha ha only jokingHHOK ha ha only kiddingHHOS ha ha only seriousIMHO in my humble opinion (see IMHO)LOL laughing out loudNHOH Never Heard of Him/Her (often used in initgame)ROTF rolling on the floorROTFL rolling on the floor laughingAFK away from keyboardb4 beforeCU l8tr see you laterMORF male or female?TTFN ta-ta for nowTTYL talk to you laterOIC oh, I seerehi hello again Most of these are not used at universities or in the Unix world, though ROTF and TTFN have gained some currency there and IMHO is common; conversely, most of the people who know these are unfamiliar with FOO?, BCNU, HELLOP, NIL, and T. The MUD community uses a mixture of Usenet/Internet emoticons, a few of the more natural of the old-style talk-mode abbrevs, and some of the social list above; specifically, MUD respondents report use of BBL, BRB, LOL, b4, BTW, WTF, TTFN, and WTH. The use of rehi is also common; in fact, mudders are fond of re- compounds and will frequently rehug or rebonk (see bonk/oif) people. The word re by itself is taken as regreet. In general, though, MUDders express a preference for typing things out in full rather than using abbreviations; this may be due to the relative youth of the MUD cultures, which tend to include many touch typists and to assume high-speed links. The following uses specific to MUDs are reported:CU l8er see you later (mutant of CU l8tr)FOAD fuck off and die (use of this is generally OTT)OTT over the top (excessive, uncalled for)ppl abbrev for "people"THX thanks (mutant of TNX; clearly this comes in batches of 1138 (the Lucasian K)).UOK? are you OK? Some B1FFisms (notably the variant spelling d00d) appear to be passing into wider use among some subgroups of MUDders. One final note on talk mode style: neophytes, when in talk mode, often seem to think they must produce letter-perfect prose because they are typing rather than speaking. This is not the best approach. It can be very frustrating to wait while your partner pauses to think of a word, or repeatedly makes the same spelling error and backs up to fix it. It is usually best just to leave typographical errors behind and plunge forward, unless severe confusion may result; in that case it is often fastest just to type "xxx" and start over from before the mistake. See also hakspek, emoticon. | |
| * (text is auto-included via JargonExtension by mutante using jargon with VERSION 4.0.0, 24 JUL 1996 - JargonFile by Eric S. Raymond is in the public domain) | |
