…was not on some obscure Usenet system or bygone bulletin board. It occurred, according to the Smithsonian, in a letter to Winston Churchill dated September 9, 1917 (more than 100 years ago!). The letter, written by British admiral Lord Fisher, includes the now-famous acronym in its final line:
Apparently there are two exclamation points in “omg”!
Other internet acronyms are much more recent coinages. The first documented instance of “LOL,” for example, dates back to a May 1989 issue of an online newsletter (still available here). Said newsletter includes the following guide to “colorful communicating” on the internet:
OLM - On Line Message OTW - On The Way
OIC - Oh I See H - HUH???
BTW - By The Way LOL - Laughing Out Loud
ROTF - Rolling On The Floor RAO - Rolling All Over
LMTO - Laughing My Tush Off BRB - Be Right Back
AFK - Away From Keys BBL - Be Back Later
BAK - Back At Keys WLCM - Welcome
BCNU - Be Seeing You L8R - Later
ODM - On De Move OTB - Off To Bed
LTNT - Long Time No Type TTFN - Ta Ta For Now
RE - Again (Greetings, as in "re-hi")
LTNS - Long Time No See
M/F - Male or Female (also known as 'MORFING', as in
"Oh no! I've been morfed!!")
Some of these terms, of course, are still in use, while others never really took off.
