3 ms·
They are detrimental to understanding. I hate them with a passion. I see people using acronyms without explaining them in context, which makes it even more diff
by abdusco 6y ago
They are detrimental to understanding. I hate them with a passion. I see people using acronyms without explaining them in context, which makes it even more difficult to understand what's written.
Some terms are jargon and are probably ubiquitous in the field, but unless I'm reading a text written for the professionals working in that field, I'd much rather see it explained.
- benhurmarcel 6y ago> unless I'm reading a text written for the professionals working in that field Most internal communication is made for professionals working in that field.
- JumpCrisscross 6y agoAcronyms have a habit of mutating. Groups using industry-standard acronyms tend to, in my experience, create their own acronyms faster than groups using jargon. It’s too easy to add another letter. Spelling out acronyms in written communication while dropping them when spoken is a good middle ground. If an acronym-compatible phrase is used more than twice, it can be defined at use and then compressed. Though I keep track of how many acronyms I’m forcing the reader to juggle at a time.
- bbarnett 6y agoWhat got me, was explaining SMTP to engineers not familiar with the acronym, who used SNMP, and a guy walked in asking it if was SNTP. Everyone started saying the above as initialisms, or long form, at that point.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]