Etiquette, Abbreviations, and Emoticons Used in Microsoft Chat

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Chat Etiquette

Good manners are as important online as they are in person. The impression you make online depends on how well you know the rules. The following etiquette rules are commonly used on the Internet.

• Do not type in capital letters. It is considered the electronic equivalent of shouting and is frowned upon.
• Refrain from using abusive language.
• Refrain from overuse of sounds and colors.
• Do not expect a hello or goodbye from everyone in the room.
• Age and sex (A/S) questions are dependent on the channel and are generally frowned upon.
• Do not demand to be a host; host privileges are given as a courtesy.
• Do not send comic mode to non-Microsoft Chat users. See the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for information about how to chat with participants who are not using Microsoft Chat:
  
  165900 Interoperability Between Microsoft Chat and Internet Relay Chat
• Do not sit in multiple rooms unless you can actively participate in the conversation. If have to leave for a moment, type "BRB" (be right back) or "BBL" (be back later) so that other users know that you are away and are not ignoring them when they speak to you. You can also click Away From Keyboard.
• Consider the nickname that you use for the room. Some nicknames may be offensive to others.
• Do not harass others with whispers if they ask not to be disturbed.
• When you ask for help, be polite and do not badger people. If possible, go to a Help room or read the Help file or manual.
• Refrain from "dancing" in Microsoft Chat. This is done by pressing the ENTER key to scroll through all of the emotions. Doing this sends unnecessary information to other users and is considered very annoying.
• Do not send files without asking or having been asked.

Chat Abbreviations

Internet chat abbreviations are commonly used online to save time typing words. Some of the many available chat abbreviations include:

   Abbreviation   Meaning
   --------------------------------------------
   NP             No problem
   AFK            Away from the keyboard
   WB             Welcome back
   L8r!           Later!
   BRB            Be right back
   BBL            Be back later
   BBIAB          Be back in a bit
   BTW            By the way
   IRL            In real life
   j/k            Just kidding
   CYA            See ya
   OIC            Oh I see
   GMTA           Great minds think alike
   IMHO           In my humble opinion
   PMFJI          Pardon me for jumping in here
   WTG!           Way to go!
   LOL            Laughing out loud
   ROFL           Rolling on floor laughing
   <g>            Small grin
   <s>            Small smile
   <S>            Big smile
   <G>            Big grin
   <vbg>          Very big grin
   <eg>           Evil grin
				

Chat Emoticons

Emoticons are sideways faces that express emotion. Usually a colon is used for the eyes and a parenthesis for the mouth. Below are some examples:

   Emoticon   Meaning
   ----------------------------------
   :-)        Smile
   :)         Smile
   0:-)       Smile with halo
   :^)        Smile with a nose
   :o)        Smile with a pudgy nose
   :~(        Crying
   :-o        Oh no!
   :-(        Frown
   :(         Frown
   ;-)        Wink/Flirt
   ;)         Wink/Flirt
   :-x        No comment
   :-|        Expressionless