Internet Safety

**There are some very important things that you need to keep in mind when you're
on your computer at home or at school.**

1. First, remember never to give out personal information such as your name, home
address, school name, or telephone number in a chat room or on bulletin boards.
Also, never send a picture of yourself to someone you chat with on the computer
without your parent's permission.

2. Never write to someone who has made you feel uncomfortable or scared.

3. Do not meet someone or have them visit you without the permission of your
parents.

4. Tell your parents right away if you read anything on the Internet that makes you
feel uncomfortable.

5. Remember that people online may not be who they say they are. Someone who
says that "she" is a "12-year-old girl" could really be an older man.

To read more about new privacy rules, visit the Federal Trade Commission's Web
site at www.ftc.gov. There is a special section just for kids.

In my January 19, 2006 "Did You Know" article I talked about the many new forms of
communcation that our society uses today. Most of these forms such as "blogs"
and chat rooms are readily used by our children but not fully understood by us.
Parents and guardians should know what meduims their children are using and
what information they are giving out.

Talk to your children about who they communicate with and what type of
information they are posting. Ask to see their webpages or their myspace.com
pages. You might be suprised who they are talking to and they type of personal
information they are giving out.

Below are some important tips to remember when you are communicating as well as
a listing of "chat" abbreviations used in chat rooms and for text messaging. Talking
to your children and being knowledgible mya keep them from being a victim.

BLOG or WEB LOG
A blog (short for "web log") is a type of web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal
journal (or log) for an individual. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the
author. Blog software usually has archives of old blogs, and is searchable. Frequently blogging
software is used by web pages providing excellent information on many topics, although very
frequently the content is personal and requires VERY careful evaluation.

BOOKMARK/FAVORITES
Way in Netscape to store in your computer direct links to sites you wish to return to. The
equivalent in Internet Explorer (IE) is called a "Favorite." To create a bookmark in Netscape,
click on BOOKMARKS, then ADD BOOKMARK. Or left-click on and drag the little bookmark
icon (in Netscape 4.6 and higher, to the right of the word BOOKMARK) to the place you want a
new bookmark filed. To visit a bookmarked site, click on BOOKMARKS and select the site from
the list.

HISTORY, Search History
Available by using the combined keystrokes CTRL + H, a more permanent record of sites you
have visited/retrieved than GO. You can set how many days your Netscape retains history in Edit
| Preferences, and in Internet Explorer in Tools | Internet Options ? General.

PERSONAL PAGE
A web page created by an individual (as opposed to someone creating a page for an institution,
business, organization, or other entity). Often personal pages contain valid and useful opinions,
links to important resources, and significant facts. One of the greatest benefits of the Web is the
freedom it as given almost anyone to put his or her ideas "out there." But frequently personal
pages offer highly biased personal perspectives or ironical/satirical spoofs, which must be
evaluated carefully.

<3 .....heart
404 .....I haven't a clue
ADN .....Any day now
AFAIK .....As far as I know
AFK .....Away from keyboard
ARE .....Acronym-rich environment
ASAP .....As soon as possible
A/S/L? .....Age/sex/location?
B4N .....Bye for now
BAK .....Back at the keyboard
BAS .....Big a** smile
BBIAB .....Be back in a bit
BBL .....Be back later
BBN ......Bye bye now
BBS .....Be back soon
BEG .....Big evil grin
BF .....Boy friend
BFD .....Big f***ing deal
BFN .....Bye for now
BG .....Big grin
BIBO .....Beer in, beer out
BIOYIOP .....Blow it out your I/O port
BL .....Belly laughing
BMGWL .....Busting my gut with laughter
BOTEC .....Back-of-the-envelope calculation
BRB .....Be right back
BTA .....But then again...
BTDT .....Been there, done that
BTW .....By the way
BWL .....Bursting with laughter
BWTHDIK .....But what the heck do I know...?
CICO .....Coffee in, coffee out
C&G .....Chuckle and grin
CNP .....Continued in next post
CRB .....Come right back
CRBT .....Crying real big tears
CU .....See you
CUL .....See you later
CUL8ER .....See you later
CYA .....See ya
CYA .....Cover your a**
CYO ......See you online
DBA .....Doing business as
DFLA .....Disenhanced four-letter acronym (that is, a TLA)
DL .....Dead link
DLTBBB .....Don't let the bed bugs bite
DIKU .....Do I know you?
DITYID .....Did I tell you I'm distressed?
DOM .....Dirty old man
DOS ......Dozing off soon
DQMOT .....Don't quote me on this
DTRT .....Do the right thing
DWB ......Don't write back
EG .....Evil grin
EMFBI .....Excuse me for butting in
EMSG .....E-mail message
EOM .....End of message
EOT .....End of thread (meaning: end of discussion)
ETLA .....Extended three-letter acronym (that is, an FLA)
F2F .....Face to face
FAQ .....Frequently-ask question(s)
FC .....Fingers crossed
FISH .....First in, still here
FLA .....Four-letter acronym
FMTYEWTK .....Far more than you ever wanted to know
FOMCL .....Falling off my chair laughing
FTBOMH .....From the bottom of my heart
FUBAR .....F***ed up beyond all repair or recognition
FUD .....Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt
FWIW .....For what it's worth
FYI .....For your information
G .....Grin
GA .....Go ahead
GAL ......Get a life
GIGO ......Garbage in, garbage out
GD&R .....Grinning, ducking, and running
GF ......Girlfriend
GFN .....Gone for now
GGP ......Gotta go pee
GIWIST ......Gee, I wish I'd said that
GL ......Good luck
GMAB ......Give me a break
GMTA ......Great minds think alike
GOL ......Giggling out loud
GTRM ......Going to read mail
GTSY ......Glad to see you
H&K ......Hug and kiss
HAGN ......Have a good night
HAND ......Have a nice day
HHIS ......Hanging head in shame
HIG ......How's it going
HT .....Hi there
HTH .....Hope this helps
HUB .....Head up butt
IAC .....In any case
IAE .....In any event
IANAL .....I am not a lawyer (but)
IC ......I see
IGP .....I gotta pee
IHA ......I hate acronyms
IHU ......I hear you
IIRC .....If I recall/remember/recollect correctly
ILU or ILY .....I love you
IM ......Immediate message
IMCO ......In my considered opinion
IMHO ......In my humble opinion
IMing .....Chatting with someone online usually while doing
other things such as playing trivia or other interactive game
IMNSHO ......In my not so humble opinion
IMO .....In my opinion
IMS ......I am sorry
IOW ......In other words
IPN ......I'm posting naked
IRL ......In real life (that is, when not chatting)
ITIGBS ......I think I'm going to be sick
IWALU ......I will always love you
IYSWIM ......If you see what I mean
J4G ......Just for grins
JBOD .....Just a bunch of disks (like redundant array of
independent disks, etc.)
JIC ......Just in case
JK ......Just kidding
JMO ......Just my opinion
JTLYK .....Just to let you know
k ......ok
KISS .....Keep it simple stupid
KIT .....Keep in touch
KOTC .....Kiss on the cheek
KOTL .....Kiss on the lips
KWIM? .....Know what I mean?
L8R .....Later
L8R G8R ....Later gator
LD ......Later, dude
LDR .....Long-distance relationship
LHO ......Laughing head off
LLTA ......Lots and lots of thunderous applause
LMAO ......Laughing my a** off
LMSO ......Laughing my socks off
LOL .....Laughing out loud
LRF ......Little Rubber Feet (the little pads on the bottom of
displays and other equipment)
LSHMBH ......Laughing so hard my belly hurts
LTM ......Laugh to myself

LTNS ......Long time no see
LTR ......Long-term relationship
LULAB ......Love you like a brother
LULAS ......Love you like a sister
LUWAMH ......Love you with all my heart
LY .....Love ya
LY4E ......Love ya forever
MorF .....Male or female
MOSS ......Member of the same sex
MOTOS ......Member of the opposite sex
MTF ......More to follow
MUSM .....Miss you so much
NADT ......Not a darn thing
NFG .......No f*****g good
NFW .....No feasible way or no f*****g way
NIFOC ........Naked in front of computer
NP or N/P .......No problem
NRN .........No response necessary
OIC .........Oh, I see
OLL .........Online love
OMG ......Oh my God
OTF ........Off the floor
OTOH ......On the other hand
OTTOMH ........Off the top of my head
PANS .......Pretty awesome new stuff (as opposed to
"POTS")
PAW ........Parents are watching
PCMCIA ........People can't master computer industry
acronyms
PDA .........Public display of affection
PEBCAK ........Problem exists between chair and
keyboard
PIBKAC ........Problem is between keyboard and chair
PITA .........Pain in the ass
PM ........Private message
PMFJIB ........Pardon me for jumping in but...
POAHF .......Put on a happy face
::POOF:: .......Goodbye (leaving the room)
POTS .......Plain old telephone service
PU .......That stinks!
QT .......Cutie
RL .........Real life (that is, when not chatting)
ROR .......Raffing out roud (Engrish for "laughing out
loud")
ROTFL ........Rolling on the floor laughing
ROTFLMAO .....Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off
ROTFLMAOWPIMP ......Rolling on the floor laughing
my a** off while peeing in my pants
ROTFLMBO ....Rolling on the floor laughing my butt off
RPG ......Role-playing games
RSN ........Real soon now
RT .......Real time
RTFM .....Read the f***ing manual
RYO .....Roll your own (write your own program;
derived from cigarettes rolled yourself with tobacco and
paper)
S^ S'up ......what's up
S4L .......Spam for life (what you may get when you
become someone's customer or client)
SHCOON .........Shoot hot coffee out of nose
SEG .......S***-eating grin
SETE .......Smiling ear to ear
SF ........Surfer-friendly (low-graphics Web site)
SHID ..........Slaps head in disgust
SNAFU ........Situation normal, all f***ed up
SO .........Significant other
SOL .......Smilling out loud or sh*t out of luck
SOMY ......Sick of me yet?
SOT .........Short on time
SOTMG .......Short on time must go
STFW .......Search the f*****g Web
STW .......Search the Web
SU ........Shut up
SUAKM .......Shut up and kiss me
SUP .......What's up
SWAG ...........Stupid wild-a** guess
SWAK ........Sealed with a kiss
SWL ......Screaming with laughter
SYS .........See you soon
TA ..........Thanks again
TAFN .......That's all for now
TANSTAAFL .....There ain't no such thing as a free
lunch
TCOY .....Take care of yourself
TFH ........Thread from hell (a discussion that just won't
die and is often irrelevant to the purpose of the forum or
group)
TGIF .......Thank God it's Friday
THX .......Thanks
TIA ........Thanks in advance (used if you post a
question and are expecting a helpful reply)
TILII ........Tell it like it is
TLA ........Three-letter acronym
TLK2UL8R ........Talk to you later
TMI .....Too much information
TNT .......Till next time
TOPCA .......Til our paths cross again (early Celtic
chat term)
TOY .....Thinking of you
TPTB .....The powers that be
TTFN .......Ta-Ta for now
TTT ......Thought that, too (when someone types in
what you were about to type)
TTYL .....Talk to you later
TU .......Thank you
TY .......Thank you
UAPITA ........You're a pain in the a**
UW .......You're welcome
VBG ......Very big grin
VBSEG .....Very big s***-eating grin
WAG .....Wild a** guess
WAYD .....What are you doing
WB ......Welcome back
WBS ......Write back soon
WDALYIC .....Who died and left you in charge?
WEG .....Wicked evil grin
WFM ......Works for me
WIBNI ......Wouldn't it be nice if
WT? .....What/who the ?
WTFO .....What the F***! Over!
WTG .....Way to go!
WTGP? .....Want to go private?
WU? ......What's up?
WYSITWIRL .....What you see is TOTALLY
WORTHLESS IN REAL LIFE!
WUF? ......Where are you from?
WYSIWYG ......What you see is what you get
YBS ......You'll be sorry
YGBSM .....You gotta be s***tin' me!
YMMV ......Your mileage may vary.
YW ......You're welcome