Common message board abbreviations, acronyms, and terms

[Savonarola]

OP: original post, the first post of a thread
ETA: edited to add

AFAIK: as far as I know
FWIW: for what it's worth
FYI: for your information
IIRC: if I remember/recall correctly
IMHO: in my humble opinion
IMO: in my opinion
IOW: in other words

"derail": to shift the topic of a thread away from that of the OP
"bump": to add a meaningless comment to a thread for the sole purpose of moving it to the top of its forum

[redheadedskeptic]

so, I am probably going to kick myself when you tell me, but what the heck does DAR mean? I have been on many message boards and have never seen it.

[Savonarola]

so, I am probably going to kick myself when you tell me, but what the heck does DAR mean? I have been on many message boards and have never seen it.

Due to our extensive experience with online conversations (especially not on message boards with quotation functions), some of us have adopted a convention to help the reader keep up with who spoke the words posted. In many cases, quick abbreviations suffice. Doug is DOUG, Darrel is DAR, Savonarola is SAV, etc.

Example:

RED
what the heck does DAR mean?

SAV
It's short for Darrel.

Alternatively, you might become RHS.

[redheadedskeptic]

I seeeee, thanks for explaining! I don't feel so stupid!