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I've been on a conference call where everyone was banding around acronyms that I didn't know, so I jumped in and asked if they could define a particular TLA tha

I've been on a conference call where everyone was banding around acronyms that I didn't know, so I jumped in and asked if they could define a particular TLA that was coming up frequently. It turned out that not a single person on the call knew what it stood for.

jrockway 15y ago
That happens all the time, but it's because the acronym is not the point. For example, when some production system went down, a "swat team" was assembled to make sure that wouldn't happen. SWAT stands for something, but what it stands for is meaningless, it's just a unique identifier for the sort of activities that the team will engage in. It's like when people call an ATM an "ATM machine". To them, ATM is an opaque word, not an abbreviation for "automated teller machine". And that's fine; use a word enough and it becomes a word.
- RyanMcGreal 15y ago
  In fact, the discussion that followed my question demonstrated that everyone had different ideas of what the acronym meant, and that those differences underlay some of the conflict over what to do about issues related to it. It wasn't just a placeholder for a shared concept; it was an active barrier to cooperation.
- InclinedPlane 15y ago
  * Special Weapons and Tactics. I think it's important to still learn what any internal acronyms and jargon mean, otherwise you can get into a "telephone game" situation where two people have acquired different and conflicting definitions for the same term.
  - gravitronic 15y ago
    humorous anecdote: My brother's friend thought "lol" meant lots of love. Until one day an exchange went down: someone else: "I have to leave town, my mother is sick." them: "oh no! lol"
smiler 15y ago
Did your next review state "Could be better at being a team player"
- pavel_lishin 15y ago
  Reviews are for the still-employed :)
jtinel 15y ago
In retrospect, I'm embarassed that I had to google TLA.
Timothee 15y ago
…asked if they could define a particular TLA that was coming up frequently. Were you meta on purpose? For the other people that don't know (like me): TLA stands for "three letter acronym". I was really wondering if you were being recursive by using a made-up acronym, that nobody could define.
- RyanMcGreal 15y ago
  Sorry, couldn't resist. :)

jrockway 15y ago

That happens all the time, but it's because the acronym is not the point. For example, when some production system went down, a "swat team" was assembled to make sure that wouldn't happen. SWAT stands for something, but what it stands for is meaningless, it's just a unique identifier for the sort of activities that the team will engage in. It's like when people call an ATM an "ATM machine". To them, ATM is an opaque word, not an abbreviation for "automated teller machine". And that's fine; use a word enough and it becomes a word.

RyanMcGreal 15y ago
In fact, the discussion that followed my question demonstrated that everyone had different ideas of what the acronym meant, and that those differences underlay some of the conflict over what to do about issues related to it. It wasn't just a placeholder for a shared concept; it was an active barrier to cooperation.
InclinedPlane 15y ago
* Special Weapons and Tactics. I think it's important to still learn what any internal acronyms and jargon mean, otherwise you can get into a "telephone game" situation where two people have acquired different and conflicting definitions for the same term.
- gravitronic 15y ago
  humorous anecdote: My brother's friend thought "lol" meant lots of love. Until one day an exchange went down: someone else: "I have to leave town, my mother is sick." them: "oh no! lol"

smiler 15y ago

Did your next review state "Could be better at being a team player"

pavel_lishin 15y ago
Reviews are for the still-employed :)

jtinel 15y ago

In retrospect, I'm embarassed that I had to google TLA.

Timothee 15y ago

…asked if they could define a particular TLA that was coming up frequently. Were you meta on purpose? For the other people that don't know (like me): TLA stands for "three letter acronym". I was really wondering if you were being recursive by using a made-up acronym, that nobody could define.

RyanMcGreal 15y ago
Sorry, couldn't resist. :)