Learning the Lingo. . .

The other day as I was driving aimlessly around town, I heard a radio advertisement that caught my attention. It was a psa/website ad warning parents about underage solicitation and telling them to be aware of who their kids are talking to and what is being said in online convos. The site mentioned a list of common IM abbreviations and that's what piqued my interest. Now, I am definitely anti-underage solicitation, but seeing as I have no children of which to monitor, I got really curious about these abbreviations for purely selfish personal reasons. :)

I'm relatively new to IMing as a regular form of communication with some of my friends (even some that I see on a regular basis and can call for free ;), and I have realized that it's requiring a great deal of typing! And as I'm concerned that having this new computer is going to eventually lead to carpal tunel, I decided that I need to look into these abbreviations! Of course I couldn't remember the address for the advertised site in the trip from the car to my computer--I'm so NOT an auditory learner!--I just decided to google it and found a few sites that have enlightened me to a whole new way of thinking! I thought I'd share a little about what I've learned.

All of the lists I found are in alphabetical order, but I thought I'd list a few of my personal categories:

Useful and/or common abbreviations:
brb--be right back
btw--by the way
cfn--ciao for now (for you Italian speakers out there!)
drib--don't read if busy
fyi--for your information
iswym--I see what you mean
k--ok
lol--laugh out loud
lmk--let me know
ltmc--long time no see
oic--oh, I see
omg--oh my gosh
ttyl--talk to you later
wdyt--What do you think?
yw--you're welcome

What's the point:
(these are abbreviations that take just as long to type as the real thing!)
id10t--idiot
kewl--cool


Some new ones/interesting ones that caught my eye:
el--evil laugh (really, now?)
oz--stands for Australia (I didn't know that!)
dyoh--do your own homework--i can only imagine why that one exists?! ;)
rofl--rolling on the floor laughing--one I was introduced to just two nights ago
fubar--f/ed up beyond recognition--I've heard this one used as an acronym before and never knew what it meant/realized it contained a potty word!
iiio--Intel inside, idiot outside (just thought it was funny)

Why bother?
(These are the ones I wouldn't get if I came across them in a conversation.)
iykwimaityd--if you know what I mean and I think you do. . .
iliciscomk--I laughed, I cried, I spit coffee/crumbs/coke on my keyboard
bbfbbm--body by fisher, brains by matel--ok, I know it's referring to toy manufacturers, and matel makes barbie and I can see the bubble-head connotations, but I still don't get the point.

Let me know if you've run across any interesting/useful/funny abbreviations of your own!