3 ms·

Again I was thinking this was the "real" RCS: https://www.gnu.org/software/rcs/ https://www.gnu.org/software/rcs/ seems we are running out of acronyms.

by jmclnx 2y ago

AStonesThrow 2y ago
Not only that, but it appears that there are at least five expansions to "R___ Control System": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCS
stavros 2y ago
I don't know, my mind went to the messaging system that's being deployed now, instead of an ancient VCS. There are only 14k possible three-letter acronyms anyway.
- skissane 2y ago
  RCS brings to my mind Reaction Control System, as in spacecraft. Been reading a lot about space recently… Although I suppose the headline doesn’t make much sense in that context - spacecraft systems are rarely in a “confusing state” (except maybe Boeing Starliner)
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- gwern 2y ago
  There are only 14k, but they are very unevenly distributed, so you might be surprised how many are left for the taking: https://gwern.net/tla https://gwern.net/tla You only have to go as far as 'CQK' before there is, AFAICT and based on Wikipedia entries, essentially no even slightly important use of a TLA. There are then another >2k more or less unused, and if you go to four-letters, you've got ~390k to play with.
  - smitelli 2y ago
    ‘CQK’ sounds like piece of trivia I would’ve had to memorize for an amateur radio license exam.
    - gcr 2y ago
      Close-Quarters Kinematics, used in robots in tightly constrained environments.
zamadatix 2y ago
We ran out a long, long time ago. 26^3 is only 17,576 and 26^4 is less than half a million (even if we intentionally set out to increment them rather than use them as meaningful acronyms) yet the birthday paradox gives grave odds for even longer acronyms via random assignment.
- ClassyJacket 2y ago
  And that's including awkward ones nobody wants like QWFW

Again I was thinking this was the "real" RCS: https://www.gnu.org/software/rcs/ https://www.gnu.org/software/rcs/ seems we are running out of acronyms.

by jmclnx 2y ago

Again I was thinking this was the "real" RCS: https://www.gnu.org/software/rcs/ https://www.gnu.org/software/rcs/ seems we are running out of acronyms.

AStonesThrow 2y ago

Not only that, but it appears that there are at least five expansions to "R___ Control System": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCS

stavros 2y ago

I don't know, my mind went to the messaging system that's being deployed now, instead of an ancient VCS. There are only 14k possible three-letter acronyms anyway.

skissane 2y ago
RCS brings to my mind Reaction Control System, as in spacecraft. Been reading a lot about space recently… Although I suppose the headline doesn’t make much sense in that context - spacecraft systems are rarely in a “confusing state” (except maybe Boeing Starliner)
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
gwern 2y ago
There are only 14k, but they are very unevenly distributed, so you might be surprised how many are left for the taking: https://gwern.net/tla https://gwern.net/tla You only have to go as far as 'CQK' before there is, AFAICT and based on Wikipedia entries, essentially no even slightly important use of a TLA. There are then another >2k more or less unused, and if you go to four-letters, you've got ~390k to play with.
- smitelli 2y ago
  ‘CQK’ sounds like piece of trivia I would’ve had to memorize for an amateur radio license exam.
  - gcr 2y ago
    Close-Quarters Kinematics, used in robots in tightly constrained environments.

zamadatix 2y ago

We ran out a long, long time ago. 26^3 is only 17,576 and 26^4 is less than half a million (even if we intentionally set out to increment them rather than use them as meaningful acronyms) yet the birthday paradox gives grave odds for even longer acronyms via random assignment.

ClassyJacket 2y ago
And that's including awkward ones nobody wants like QWFW