What Is Your Thoughts? Just Checking Opinions.

Updated on September 12, 2010
L.M. asks from Hartly, DE
22 answers

I don't mean to offend anyone so please don't take it that way...just a little pet peeve of mine...

Does anyone else get irritated (for lack of a better word) by the excessive use of "LOL" and "Grrrr" in texts or posts? First of all, LOL meant Lots of Love long before texting started. Second of all people use it for everything even not so funny content. As for the "Grrrr"...well I don't get it (I understand what they intend but I don't get why they feel it is necessary).

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So What Happened?

First let me say, I didn't mean to indicate it was a big deal just something I had noticed and I wasn't busy so I decided to ask. Ok..I made a grammatic error but it is not a repetitive error. I do know what the LOL and Grrrr is for. I only meant that not only does LOL mean different things but it is WAY over used and not always appropriate and didn't know if anyone else had noticed. As for the Grrrr based on when I have seen it appear it is often unnecessary as the rest of the text or post already indicates that the person is irritated and I personally would prefer to see "I am irritated" or whatever emotion is intended (I flash to the times when I tell my toddler to use her words). I get that abbreviations are needed sometimes but in one text I received the other day the person used LOL three times and nothing was funny at all!

Featured Answers

A.G.

answers from Pocatello on

well for me I don't text a lot so I don't really have that problem. I feel that if I need to talk to a friend or family member it's better to actually call and speak to them like real people. I'm only 27 so I'm not old or anything but I feel it's better not to text so again I don't have that problem. As for post? I don't know it doesn't really bother me.....I mean there aren't that many ways on here to express that you think something is funny other than with a haha or an LOL, or to show you are irritated with a Grrrrr....I would rather see that than swear words. Wouldn't you?

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

3 moms found this helpful

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S.B.

answers from Redding on

Hmmm.
Kind of irritating like, "What is your thoughts?"
It should be, "What are your thoughts?"

But hey....who's grading on here?

The first time I ever saw LOL it was at the end of an e-mail my boss sent me regarding the crucial taking care of something for him while he was out of town.
I assumed it meant "Lots of luck!"

I always try to type things out as properly as possible without the abbreviations, but that's just me.
Other people's style is their own business.

I don't let any of it bother me too much.

7 moms found this helpful

S.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

Some people are more expressive than others, in general.
In their speech and in their writing.
Some people are more reserved, quiet,
less likely to use intensifiers in describing events or their feelings.

I'm guessing the women who write LOL, usually,
are laughing at themselves.
Indicating they used to think or do X and now they know better.
They're laughing at their previous lack of awareness.

As for Grrrr, I think it's usually intended
as a way to express frustration or irritation in writing.
Preferable/easier than writing 4-5 sentences to express the same thing.

I sincerely hope that this particular pet peeve
is the absolutely worst thing to occur to you and your loved ones.

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C.W.

answers from Austin on

I use it a lot... but only so people know how I mean something... If I type (for example) "he's such a jerk" it could be taken many ways... Adding LOL means I'm saying it with a smile... Grr means that I'm actually angry. When texting, phones have limited space allowed, so you need to condense and abbreviate wherever possible to get your message across. As far as the lots of love thing... the meanings of words change with the years. Just look at what happened to "gay" or "cool"...

(BTW, to the posters that asked... The "D" stands for "dear" or "darling"(husband, daughter, son, etc.... take your pic. :D)

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C.S.

answers from Las Vegas on

Don't care either way...let them be.

2 moms found this helpful
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P.O.

answers from Harrisburg on

I think because there isn't another word for just laughing....Laughing out loud (LOL) for what it means seem like they are mocking what someone says, but I believe it's because there is no text word for just laughing...maybe they should use CUL...(cracking up laughing). It's the same as someone using haha...to me that seem corny like the person didn't get the joke.

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A.G.

answers from Houston on

I use "lol" for "laughing out loud" because it looks better than "hahahahahahahahahahahahhaah", but if i were typing something professional i would of course abbreviate nothing.

I try to keep an open mind, after all, the "elders" probably used to dislike contractions such as "won't" can't wouldn't" etc

kids these days

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B.S.

answers from Houston on

Personally, seeing it here and there doesn't bother me. I know some people on this site are annoyed by it and have told others that this isn't a texting forum which I think is a little harsh. I really don't see how it is any different than IMO, DO, LO...etc.

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

I actually think it's really interesting, how language still manages to shift and change since the invention and common use of the dictionary. ((Prior to the dictionary, English alone would change *dramatically* every other generation. For just a hint, "Where" used to mean "Why" -"Where art thou Romeo?" isn't a question of location, it's a plaint against him belonging to his family, instead of another. For an even bigger hint, check out Chaucer. The fact that only a few generations later Chaucer made no sense to most people, but was known to be very very funny to the prior generations was part of what spawned the creation of the first dictionary. Which is HILARIOUS, btw. Look up the entry for Oats. And continue for an even bigger laugh onto hundreds of other 'definitions' especially those of new world animals.))

Anyhow, moving right along, Heinlein pegged the next (as in current) vocabular shift over 50 years ago with "Short Speak", where one word or a series of letters actually conveyed whole sentences and paragraphs, and furthermore that while there was public short speak, also that families would have individual/private shortspeak that let them talk in private to each other.

100 years ago was the last oracular shift, when spoken English transferred into what it has been today. Check out the difference between the written word in the 1890's and 1920. In 1920, English is written and spoken almost identically to how it is spoken today... but in 1890 there was a whole universe of difference. 1776 & 1890 English are almost identical, but over the course of 30 years/1 generation *something* happened. I often wonder what, but I suspect that it had to do with a change in public schooling. My grandparents' elementary primers had the "old" style of writing (we still have them). They are *beautifully* written books, that are phenomenally descriptive in their use of language. But that is neither her nor there.

For myself, I have several different styles of writing. What I post on here would make my editor physically ill, NOTHING of what I write on here is suitable for publication. Ditto, I don't write prose in txt, or use , or y for z. There are certain times and places for certain styles of writing. Here are all of the various styles I use:

- Prose / 3rd person narrative
- Prose/ 1st person narrative
- Articles
- APA papers
- MLA papers
- Grantwriting
- Message Board
- Blog
- Email, personal
- Email, professional
- Letters, casual or professional
- Letters, highstyle
- Txt
- 1337 ((leet-speak))

Now... I may be taxonomizing a little too much ... a simpler categorizing would be

- Writing for publication
- Writing for school
- Writing for the internet
- Letter writing
- Txt'ing
- 1337

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J.C.

answers from Lincoln on

Nope, doesn't bother me at all.

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M.W.

answers from Boise on

Personally, I hate "lol" too. It seems way overused and I wish it would blow up.

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C.G.

answers from Dallas on

I just answered another post and used lol! nope it doesn't bother me at all. as a busy mom I use whatever saves me time, even a second so I welcome abbreviations.

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J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

I think LOL is sooooooooooo over used. I prefer Haha. I think people use it to not be offensive because it can be kind of hard to express tone in writing like this. but it loses its context. Never really seen a grrr though.

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

It certainly doesn't bother me as much as the misspelled words and poor grammar! I'll take double "lol's" and triple "grrrrr's" over that all day long!

I don't know it just does something to me at the core when a mom seeking advice on something can't even spell half of the words in her request correctly!

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S.B.

answers from Chicago on

Yes, I find the overuse of LOL to be annoying, because as you said, sometimes it's not even funny! Or sometimes people just say it to say it, because they have nothing better to say, and in that case I wish they would just say nothing. Grrr doesn't bother me, I get that it's just a way to vent frustration and I've used it myself on occasion. My bigger pet peeves are when people don't use words appropriately, not typos, but glaring misuse of words like there/their/they're or to/too/two. It drives me up the wall!

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M.S.

answers from Washington DC on

I'm still trying to figure out what DH, DD and DS mean. I'm guessing the second letters are for husband, daughter and son but what does the D mean?????????? Personally, I prefer typing the entire word and/or using the telephone. How hard is it to acutally type laugh out loud and use correct capitalization and punctuation? (spelling is my weak point!) My life isn't so important that I don't have time to try and write correctly. It almost seems like a lack of respect for the person reading what you write. Sorry for ranting, I guess I was just born in the wrong generation, LOL!

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A.M.

answers from College Station on

Well while this is being asked could someone tell me what the DH, DS,DD, DO and stuff means :) I use lol a lot because there isnt any other way to say Im laughing at this. I also have used it for lots of love to certain people. They dont bother me. I just wish I could keep up with all the terms :)

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L.N.

answers from New York on

LOL-laugh outloud
grrrr-i am upset
i don't get upset.

1 mom found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

It is used so much, I do not even notice any more..

FYI, LOL stands for Laugh out Loud..

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A.S.

answers from Davenport on

Yes, I think LOL is overused. I think a lot of people use LOL when they say something that they feel might be offensive to others. For example, 'I hate that you use grrr....LOL.' Meaning, I hate the use of grrr but I don't want you to get offended that I just told you that so I'll tack on LOL to make it seem ok that I've just basically told you that your writing style annoys me. Kind of like when people preface something with, 'I don't mean to offend' or 'I'm not racist, but.' You know that means whatever they are about to say is offensive or racist. Personally, I hate that people use advice and advise incorrectly. Drives me batty.

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S.C.

answers from San Diego on

We live in a generation where everyting has to be NOW!Fast Foods....PVR......Internet....Its disturbing to think how we as a society have become so lazy.Yes.....times are alot more hectic but we need to sometimes s-l-o-w down and smell the roses!!Heaven forbid we take the time to see a sunrise or watch a bird looking for worms...we're all to busy doing what needs to be done N-O-W!!So yeah.....I too find it a little annoying!!(I prefer "Ha Ha Ha"...seems a little more real!!!)

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