At first blush, it seems a reasonable proposal.
Go back and look at your chat transcripts. Then, if you're a stalker, look at someone else's chat transcripts. Notice anything?
You're right, there's a lot of LOLing going around. And, quite frankly, nobody is that funny. As much as it pains me to say it, not even me.
In fact, if you act out these transcripts and laugh out loud every time you happen across a LOL, the jokes and laughter will start to feel forced, almost like a first date between two thirty-somethings who haven't gotten laid in over a year.
The reason for this phenomenon is simple. People online are simply having a conversation and use LOL as polite shorthand to indicate that what the other person says is amusing. They may not actually be chuckling, but they're being entertained. And when they say LOL, it's almost like a smile and a nod. It signals to the other person that their conversational efforts are appreciated, and that they should, by all means, keep going so that both parties may continue to enjoy themselves.
Why do I know this? Because I, and every other person with whom I've had an online conversation, do occasionally laugh out loud. But when we do that, we don't just write down a meager "LOL." That would be insufficient. Instead, we write something like "I'm actually laughing out loud" or "literally laughing out loud" or some other such construct that tacitly acknowledges that when you merely "Laugh Out Loud," you're not really laughing at all.
The reason for this phenomenon is simple. People online are simply having a conversation and use LOL as polite shorthand to indicate that what the other person says is amusing. They may not actually be chuckling, but they're being entertained. And when they say LOL, it's almost like a smile and a nod. It signals to the other person that their conversational efforts are appreciated, and that they should, by all means, keep going so that both parties may continue to enjoy themselves.
Why do I know this? Because I, and every other person with whom I've had an online conversation, do occasionally laugh out loud. But when we do that, we don't just write down a meager "LOL." That would be insufficient. Instead, we write something like "I'm actually laughing out loud" or "literally laughing out loud" or some other such construct that tacitly acknowledges that when you merely "Laugh Out Loud," you're not really laughing at all.
So it's imperative that we get on the same page here. Not everybody subscribes to this philosophy and we are left with horrible misunderstandings and occasionally fights.
For example, I remember when I still did work in the library and I was sitting across from this girl. And I was chatting with her and she said something and I wrote down "haha." Which would have been fine, except she could see my face. And I was not laughing. Maybe I was smiling. And she called me out on it. And, in retrospect, she was obviously flirting, but since I'm an idiot, I went and gave her a complete explanation of how people laugh online, not unlike what I just outlined above. And then I wonder why I'm single.
So, in order to help out oblivious idiots like myself, I have devised a fairly simple shorthand for my humorous reactions. I should warn you that I don't LOL, because internet abbreviations are not manly and I have better things to do, like felling trees. Instead, I use variations of "haha" (Or "jaja," when chatting with folks back home) because, essentially, it's the same thing. To wit:
Haha = LOL. Again, not actually laughing, but indicating pleasant amusement and general enjoyment of the conversation.
Hahaha = Chuckling. Actually laughing. Emitting real sounds of mirth. May include shaking of shoulders.
Hahahaha+ = Chortling. Guffaws. Loud laughter, probably necessitating covering mouth with hand. Back in school, this meant hiding your face so the professor wouldn't think you were laughing at the details of testamentary witnesses.
So, in order to help out oblivious idiots like myself, I have devised a fairly simple shorthand for my humorous reactions. I should warn you that I don't LOL, because internet abbreviations are not manly and I have better things to do, like felling trees. Instead, I use variations of "haha" (Or "jaja," when chatting with folks back home) because, essentially, it's the same thing. To wit:
Haha = LOL. Again, not actually laughing, but indicating pleasant amusement and general enjoyment of the conversation.
Hahaha = Chuckling. Actually laughing. Emitting real sounds of mirth. May include shaking of shoulders.
Hahahaha+ = Chortling. Guffaws. Loud laughter, probably necessitating covering mouth with hand. Back in school, this meant hiding your face so the professor wouldn't think you were laughing at the details of testamentary witnesses.
Hahahahahahahaha (enter) hahahahahahah (enter) hahahahahahahaha = What you just said was freaking priceless and deserves to be memorialized forever either as a status update on Facebook or as an away message on this chat program. Maybe even a tweet.
ROFL = Used when something is so not funny that it becomes the opposite of funny. Because nobody actually Rolls On the Floor Laughing, using this would break a sarcasm detector.
ROFL = Used when something is so not funny that it becomes the opposite of funny. Because nobody actually Rolls On the Floor Laughing, using this would break a sarcasm detector.
I say with no small degree of hyperbole that standardizing our online laughter is of the utmost importance and should take precedence over most legislative goals. So I call on you, Senator and avid Twitterer John McCain, to help me co-sponsor this bill.
What? Not even a LOL?
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