1989: "IMHO"

[somitomi]

Title text: "Ugh, TMI." "Yeah, that's some tantalizing meat info."

I thought this was just going to harp on some abbrevations having multiple interpretations¹ or pronounciations, but the last panel saved it.

¹which I think kind of defeats the purpose, but then I find these abbreviations annoying in general.

[sonar1313]

Something something Hitler something something.

Sorry, I just wanted to skip to the end of the arguments.

[Reka]

The H in IMHO can't mean "honest", because then IMNSHO doesn't work.

[cellocgw]

Gone but not completely forgotten, at least for us aging Boston-area folks:

IDKY -- I don't know yet
TTTC - too tough to call
Created and used liberally by Richard "Dicky" Alberts in his weather forecasts.

In the interest of true confessions: the first time I saw meaniehead, it was out of context and all I could guess was Single Jewish Woman (tho' in Personals or Rent-share it would have been SJF[emale]) .

[MongoTheGeek]

No mention of the dual meanings of FTW?

[Unclevertitle]

Something something Hitler something something.

Sorry, I just wanted to skip to the end of the arguments.

In My Hitler Opinion I've never liked those abbreviations anyway.

[pkcommando]

Panel 3 is a serious logic-fail. To Be Humongous wouldn't give you Honest, or was that part of the joke?

[Weeks]

"Gif" is pronounced that way by truncation of the word "gift"

[Soupspoon]

FYI…

Oh my giantess!

TTFN

[suso]

"Gif" is pronounced that way by truncation of the word "gift"

By you and a group of other people it's pronounced that way. By myself and others mostly who got online in the early 90s and Steve Wilhite, who is the guy who wrote the damn format, it's pronounced Jif, because that's the way he intended it ("Choosy developers choose GIF", parodying the Jif peanut butter commercial).

I think though that fighting pronounciations/interpretations is the wrong approach because after all language is dynamic and changes over time. Maybe the best approach is to document and record the differences so that in time the fact that there were differences is not lost. Also, it's kinda interesting that in just the last 20 years the language has changed.

[Felderburg]

Here's an interesting article with sources; while "humble" is first, it seems that "honest" was listed starting in the early 90s, but only secondary to "humble," and most sources don't list "honest" at all: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/ ... an/559481/

Edit: Someone should make a script to auto vote for humble here: https://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/wha ... imho-means

[Soupspoon]

Over here, you wouldn't have put Jif in your sandwiches.

(Took ages for me to get Linux right, way back in the early days.)

[rmsgrey]

"Gif" is pronounced that way by truncation of the word "gift"

By you and a group of other people it's pronounced that way. By myself and others mostly who got online in the early 90s and Steve Wilhite, who is the guy who wrote the damn format, it's pronounced Jif, because that's the way he intended it ("Choosy developers choose GIF", parodying the Jif peanut butter commercial).

And then there's the vocal minority who pronounce it "jyfe" (to rhyme with "life"). They even have t-shirts...

Over here, you wouldn't have put Jif in your sandwiches.

(Took ages for me to get Linux right, way back in the early days.)

But you would put it on pancakes (see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzptd2wetpY )

[Soupspoon]

I feel a right lemon for not mentioning that.

[Steve the Pocket]

I knew a guy who liked to pronounce SQL as "squirrel" (American pronunciation). I guess it kind of works, since it's used to "squirrel away" data and then retrieve it—although I've heard it said that squirrels don't actually remember where they buried their own acorns, and just end up digging up each other's by spring.

[Soupspoon]

(Sounds like most databasing. Especially.)

[The Snide Sniper]

When I saw that dress I couldn't see it as anything other than blue and gold.

[J%r]

I knew a guy who liked to pronounce SQL as "squirrel" (American pronunciation).

Is it that why they called the db client Squirrel?

Is it a 'rooter' or a 'rawter'?

[Jonathan589]

Well, at least we're all clear with LOL for Lots of Love; and one of my descendants was in the World Taekwondo Federation.

[jgh]

By myself and others mostly who got online in the early 90s and Steve Wilhite, who is the guy who wrote the damn format, it's pronounced Jif, because that's the way he intended it ("Choosy developers choose GIF", parodying the Jif peanut butter commercial).

Ah yes, Jaffics Interchange Format.

And going from hints from existing words, which is how you work out how to pronounce an unfamiliar word, how many words start GIF and are pronounced with a J?

[Soupspoon]

Generally, a gigantic geography of g-words generate hard-gees . But gems generously germinate gentle gees.

(I did not know this rule. That this was a rule. Because of the many common exceptions.)

[Mutex]

I knew a guy who liked to pronounce SQL as "squirrel" (American pronunciation).

My wife is American. I'll have to think of a way to get her to say the word "squirrel" so I can hear how it's pronounced differently.

(I suppose I could just ask her how she'd pronounce it but that's no fun)

[Pfhorrest]

Ah yes, Jaffics Interchange Format.

Giraffe-ics Interchange Format?

[qvxb]

This comic is based on an unused Seinfeld script.

[dtilque]

"Gif" is pronounced that way by truncation of the word "gift"

By you and a group of other people it's pronounced that way. By myself and others mostly who got online in the early 90s and Steve Wilhite, who is the guy who wrote the damn format, it's pronounced Jif, because that's the way he intended it ("Choosy developers choose GIF", parodying the Jif peanut butter commercial).

Money for nothing and the GIF's for free?

[squareroot]

Okay but SQL is and always will be "Squirrel" to me. Especially given that "squirrel" is also a verb meaning "to store away for later retrieval", it's too fitting for a database system not to be used.

[da Doctah]

On pronunciation, I gather we're all about a hundred years past the kerfuffle over "cally-oap"?

On abbreviations, how many damn fools think "cc:" stands for "courtesy copy"?

[pareidolon]

I've always used IMO, but I guess my opinion is neither humble nor honest.

Hey let's have a more interesting conversation. How do all of you pronounce GNU?

[Weeks]

On abbreviations, how many damn fools think "cc:" stands for "courtesy copy"?

unaware as of now of anyone who doesn't either think of it as "carbon copy" or "I don't know, additional receivers? I guess?"

[Weeks]

How do all of you pronounce GNU?

silent g, like lasagna and Lil' Wayne.

[Pfhorrest]

What actually is the point of CC in modern email when you can have multiple recipients in To? BCC has obvious differences but CC just seems like "To too".

[speising]

What actually is the point of CC in modern email when you can have multiple recipients in To? BCC has obvious differences but CC just seems like "To too".

if i'm in "cc", i know i can ignore the mail. if i'm in "to", i feel obliged to read it, possibly even answer.

[Weeks]

It seems to have a connotation in certain places of "this email was not meant to be answered by you/it is not urgent that you obtain this information, but please read it anyway"

edit: ninja'd

[SDK]

It seems to have a connotation in certain places of "this email was not meant to be answered by you/it is not urgent that you obtain this information, but please read it anyway"

edit: ninja'd

"Hey, just so you know, this is happening."

Is this not the case everywhere? cc'ing people is definitely useful. I do it all the time.

[ucim]

IMEO, it's Guh-NEW.

cc'ing people is definitely useful. I do it all the time.

Agreed. But the value is lost when somebody replies to all (which preserves the to/cc) while addressing somebody who's been ccd. It really should be TO that person, cc the original mailer.

Even worse are subject lines. Immensely useful, until the conversation drifts.

Spoiler:

Sometimes the conversation drifts right from the start, as in
subject: something I think I want to tell you
body:Other stuff that's actually more important, as the writer's thought process occurs, but never really gets to the original subject (or figures that the subject line "said it all")

Or when somebody needs an email address and just replies to an old (irrelevant subject) email without updating the subject line. I'm of the exalted opinion that the form to create email should have the subject line at the bottom, probably labeled "summary", and the email won't send unless you either fill it in, check a box saying "no summary", or check a box saying "Yes, this (prior) summary is still valid. Use it".

Oh, and jif. Like genie.

Jose

[DavidSh]

Not sure why the comic is referencing Three Mile Island. After Chernobyl, people pretty much forgot about TMI.

[Soupspoon]

To: those I would look in the eye when talking, with or without hope or need to be looked back at,
Cc: those who I think ought to look the above in the eye, over my shoulder, and may also want the option to nudge my ribs or whisper in my ear at some point,
Bcc: those who I've hidden behind the curtain, sofa, looking through the gap in the ajar doorway, because I want them to know who is in the room (and not also hidden),


(As per ninja, a previous From: would indeed be a good candidate to openly be observed to be observing who I'm Fwd:ing to.)

(Also as per ninja, top-posting should be banned and should never have been implemented. That causes more problems in topic-drift, through old stuff ending up out of sight and mind, than any other thing.)


And I pronounce GNU as good idea, but as subject to the effects of human failings and scaling as any other development of its type.

[Pfhorrest]

/ŋu:/

[Isaac Hill]

I learned of the existence of SQL in conversation, pronounced "sequel", without knowing how it was spelled. I assumed it was spelled C-quel and was an offshoot of C, like C++ or C-sharp.

Did anyone ever ask the Jif peanut butter people how they felt about some guy using their intellectual property to promote his image format? The band Green Jello had to change their name to Green Jelly (with an umlaut over the y) because the people who make Jell-O didn't want to be associated with them. One of the band members was a guest on an MTV game show. The host said something about the umlaut meaning it was pronounced like an O. The band member said that legally he couldn't tell people to pronounce it that way.

[Mikeski]

The band Green Jello had to change their name to Green Jelly (with an umlaut over the y) because the people who make Jell-O didn't want to be associated with them. One of the band members was a guest on an MTV game show. The host said something about the umlaut meaning it was pronounced like an O. The band member said that legally he couldn't tell people to pronounce it that way.

Like an O? You mean I've been mispronouncing Queensrÿche all this time?