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| Chat Room Lingo: How to Speak in Cyberspace Marla A. Hoyos, RN, BSN and Trudy Reilly |
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| With the advent of
Internet chat rooms, the term “bilingual” takes
on a whole new meaning. If you’ve ever entered a
chat room, you already know that seasoned
“chatters” speak a language of their own. But,
don’t let their “chat speak” dissuade you
from joining in on the conversation. Getting with the
lingo isn’t that hard. And you don’t have to be
an expert typist to join in, either. Here are some tips
to help you get started. Who, Me? Before you enter a chat room, choose a nickname to use; never give your real name, phone number, or any other identifying information online – you never know who may be monitoring the room! People are not always who they say they are, either, so keep safety in mind when chatting. There can be many different conversations going on concurrently within the same chat room. As the sender of the comment, your screen name or nickname will automatically appear; however, be sure to begin your comments or questions with the screen name of the person you are addressing. For example, "icunurse, where r u fm?" Abrevi8 Whenever possible, use abbreviations or shorthand when chatting. Instead of typing, “where are you from,” type, “where r u fm?” And instead of asking people where they’re from, whether they’re male or female, or how old they are, you can just type, “stats?” or “A/S/L,” which stands for age/sex/location. An appropriate answer, for example, would be “F/RN/34/FL,” meaning female/registered nurse/age 34/residing in Florida. See sidebar for other useful abbreviations you may see in use or choose to use. Express Yourself Electronically Hang out in a chat room for any length of time and you’re sure to notice some unexplained typographical characters. Chances are they’re not typos, but “chat smileys,” otherwise known as “emoticons.” They’re used to show emotion, attitude, tone, and humor. If you want to send an electronic smile, type a colon followed by a dash and a right parentheses; it'll look like this: :-). That’s called a basic smile. There are hundreds of smiley variations, too many to include in this article, but see the sidebar for a few you may find useful. ALL CAPITALS ARE USED TO GET SOMEONE’S ATTENTION; THEY’RE ALSO USED TO INDICATE YELLING! Unless you’re really angry, use capital letters sparingly. Chatting is a wonderful way to network, make new friends, or just have plain old cyber fun. Just remember, be courteous and safe. Hope to see you in a chat room!
Editor’s Note: Ready to chat? Visit the Nursing Spectrum chat room at www.nursingspectrum.com. You can access the chat room of our website through the Nurse Community section. Watch for our special hosted live chats!
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