LOL

For other things known by the acronym LOL, see LOL.

LOL (also spelled lol) is an acronym, the abbreviation for "laughing out loud" or less commonly "lots of laughs" or the backronym "lots of love". LOL is a common element of Internet slang used historically on Usenet and in bulletin board systems; and continuing to the present day in nearly all Internet and wireless venues (e.g IRC and instant messaging). It is used for expressing general amusement, or wide variety of subtle emotions depending on subcultural context. Many similar acronyms for expressing laughter exist.

History

The origin of LOL is unknown. It is rumored that it first started in print in 1973. Other rumors attribute its use to the Dutch word lol meaning "fun".

Analysis

Many people are critical of "LOL" and its related acronyms and there is widespread controversy over their use.

Siren^[1] criticises the overuse of "LOL", stating that he has "seen people type 'LOL' after every sentence" and thus finds it hard to believe "that people are actually laughing out loud every single time they type this". FangedFriend^[2] criticizes "LOL" on the grounds that whilst the concept of laughing out loud existed prior to the existence of the acronym, the existence of the acronym decreases the quality of the English language, with its "insidious habit of sneaking into people’s homework, notes, and other daily thoughts in general". Brad^[3] observes that people "say 'lol' for no reason at all" and asserts that the word has been "used so much in common [I]nternet slang that we have been desensitized to its meaning." Lacetti, professor of humanities at Stevens Institute of Technology, and Molsk^[4] predict reduced chances of employment for students who use such acronyms, stating that "Unfortunately for these students, their bosses will not be "lol" when they read a report that lacks proper punctuation and grammar, has numerous misspellings, various made-up words, and silly acronyms."

Twitchell^[5], on the other hand, defends these acronyms as having "become a standard part of [I]nternet conversations, and you're just going to have to get used to it".

Variations on the theme

The widespread use of the term has sprung many variations such as pseudo-pluralizations (e.g. lols and lolz), repetitions (e.g. lololol, loooool, and any number of other repetitious variants), and puns (e.g. lollerskates, lollercoaster). Sometimes the Os are replaced with alternating or random zeroes (e.g. lo0o0ol).

Despite it being an English acronym, it is often used by non-English speakers as-is, even in other scripts (eg. Template:Lang-ar).

Variants and translations in widespread use

• El oh el - pseudo-pronunciation.
• lal or lawl — "la(w)l" can refer to either a way in which someone words the phrase of lol, or the German translation (Although most german speakers use 'lol' )
• Lol (lollig) is a Dutch word, meaning fun (funny).
• Mdr is the equivalent in French : Mort De Rire
• ｗ — used commonly in 2ch
• LMAO stands for "Laughing My Ass Off" and has several variations itself:
  • LMFAO - The F can stand for Fat or for Fucking.
  • ROFL/ROTFL - Rolling On the Floor, Laughing.
  • and of course, in any permutation such as: ROFLMAO

Puns

These are the most widely used plays on LOL and ROFL, that satisfy the criteria for inclusion in Wiktionary. (There is a large number of additional nonce word puns, not listed here, that have yet to attain that status.)

• LOLLERCOASTER
• LOLLERSKATES
• ROFLCOPTER
• LMAONADE

References

1. ^ Template:Web reference author
2. ^ Template:Web reference author
3. ^ Template:Web reference author
4. ^ Silvio Lacetti and Scott Molsk: "Cost of poor writing no laughing matter". 2003-09-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
5. ^ Template:Web reference author

See also

• leet
• List of Internet slang