5 ms·

They think it makes them sound knowledgable.

andruby 11mo ago
I don't think that is necessarily the case. If you use certain words all the time, shortening them makes sense. They might just forget which abbreviations are and aren't common knowledge. You wouldn't get mad if people use PC, CPU, ATM and RAM, right? Even SSD would be fine on HN, but it probably wouldn't be fine outside HN. (neither would using "HN")
- alberto_ol 11mo ago
  Without context ATM could be Asynchronous Transfer Mode or automated teller machine.
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - sowbug 11mo ago
    At the moment
- codeflo 11mo ago
  > Even SSD would be fine on HN, but it probably wouldn't be fine outside HN. The set of people who know the term "solid state drive" is likely a strict subset of the people (mostly tech enthusiasts of some shape) who know "SSD". Same for "USB" and many other terms that have entered the mainstream primarily as an abbreviation. So the question is not whether to use an abbreviation or spell out the full term as a matter of principle; the question is whether it's the abbreviation or the full term that's more commonly known. I'd argue that way fewer people recognize "CTA" than know the term "call to action". I personally have done some front-end development, and didn't know the abbreviation either.
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - Izkata 10mo ago
    And "ATM machine" tells me most people think the acronym is the name instead of an acronym.
venturecruelty 11mo ago
[flagged]
- kunley 11mo ago
  To be exact, it takes more time than 0.3s to type it, even for a fast typer. I don't know why people can't not exaggerate things? Doing it is certainly making their message less reliable, not more
- ryanjshaw 11mo ago
  I googled it and it was defined as a marketing term, so I figured that can’t be the right one in a comment about freedom of speech.
- nmz 11mo ago
  It stands for "Chicago transit authority". I don't know about you, but search engines have become useless since last year, I'm talking downright unusable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTA
  - stockresearcher 10mo ago
    The Chicago Transit Authority has existed for only about 70 years despite transit in Chicago being around for 125+ years. Legislation the governor signed last week all but guarantees that it won’t see its hundredth birthday except possibly as a sticker on the side of the busses and trains. Within 5 years the agency will only have the duty to plan routes within the city limits, and maybe do some of the driver hiring.
- MarkusQ 11mo ago
  A search engine can tell you what some people mean by the acronym. It can't tell you what this particular author meant. It's like asking an LLM where you left your car keys, or asking Google what your spouse wants for dinner.
  - venturecruelty 10mo ago
venturecruelty 10mo ago
No, they're just not pandering to children who can't help themselves.

I don't think that is necessarily the case. If you use certain words all the time, shortening them makes sense. They might just forget which abbreviations are and aren't common knowledge. You wouldn't get mad if people use PC, CPU, ATM and RAM, right? Even SSD would be fine on HN, but it probably wouldn't be fine outside HN. (neither would using "HN")

alberto_ol 11mo ago
Without context ATM could be Asynchronous Transfer Mode or automated teller machine.
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
- sowbug 11mo ago
  At the moment
codeflo 11mo ago
> Even SSD would be fine on HN, but it probably wouldn't be fine outside HN. The set of people who know the term "solid state drive" is likely a strict subset of the people (mostly tech enthusiasts of some shape) who know "SSD". Same for "USB" and many other terms that have entered the mainstream primarily as an abbreviation. So the question is not whether to use an abbreviation or spell out the full term as a matter of principle; the question is whether it's the abbreviation or the full term that's more commonly known. I'd argue that way fewer people recognize "CTA" than know the term "call to action". I personally have done some front-end development, and didn't know the abbreviation either.
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
- Izkata 10mo ago
  And "ATM machine" tells me most people think the acronym is the name instead of an acronym.

venturecruelty 11mo ago

[flagged]

kunley 11mo ago
To be exact, it takes more time than 0.3s to type it, even for a fast typer. I don't know why people can't not exaggerate things? Doing it is certainly making their message less reliable, not more
ryanjshaw 11mo ago
I googled it and it was defined as a marketing term, so I figured that can’t be the right one in a comment about freedom of speech.
nmz 11mo ago
It stands for "Chicago transit authority". I don't know about you, but search engines have become useless since last year, I'm talking downright unusable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTA
- stockresearcher 10mo ago
  The Chicago Transit Authority has existed for only about 70 years despite transit in Chicago being around for 125+ years. Legislation the governor signed last week all but guarantees that it won’t see its hundredth birthday except possibly as a sticker on the side of the busses and trains. Within 5 years the agency will only have the duty to plan routes within the city limits, and maybe do some of the driver hiring.
MarkusQ 11mo ago
A search engine can tell you what some people mean by the acronym. It can't tell you what this particular author meant. It's like asking an LLM where you left your car keys, or asking Google what your spouse wants for dinner.
- venturecruelty 10mo ago

venturecruelty 10mo ago

No, they're just not pandering to children who can't help themselves.