FT Slang
 

As a fairly new member, I struggle with all of the slang on FT. Obviously lots of acronyms (e.g. TATL) and insider terminology (e.g. metal).

I think it would be helpful if the moderators could make this a sticky. If all FT gurus could submit terms with definition/explanation it would be quite helpful to us newbies. Please don't list airport or airline codes. That is something that can easily be googled.

I would be willing to go through the posts and compile an ongoing list on the 1st post of the thread.

Look at the top bar at the very top of the FT page and select Help. You will see both a glossary and an airport code lookup feature.

Nevermind. Thanks for the info.

Don't feel bad. Some things are less obvious to find on FT just due to the way the site is structured.

Very true, very true.

Look at it as an education. As they say, if you can't take a joke you shouldn't have joined. :D

Yesterday, in response to a question I had posted on a different thread, I got this reply:

"Unless you were upgraded then the UG bucket shows, (as in G, V, X or Z). For example, if you buy a T fare, and miss the UG the BP says T. If you score the UG it will say V for a domestic F complimentary UG or X for a complimentary Business Class UG."
I am not making this up; I would not know how to.

I briefly considered going to the glossary for translation purposes, but instead just gave up, realizing that it might easily take me 30 minutes to translate and decipher the codes in this message.

Seriously? That is the basics of UG = upgrade, BP= boarding pass and the rest are fare classes. The latter is what you need to learn to really understand a lot of what is going on on the boards. That is where the cost of your ticket, your place in most upgrade queues, whether upgrade space is available and whether you're even eligible to upgrade all comes into play. Read more, you'll understand more.

30 minutes? Really? Hardly needs a Turing education to work it out.

Not really. This was hyperbole. To make the point that not all members, such as the one who started this thread, and others such as myself, understand and use such long strings of abbreviations.

While I can understand, it IS the terminology for the site and if someone makes the attempt, its not all that long before they are using the same abbreviations in their own posts. The glossaries help, and when there is a question ppl are usually willing to cough up an explanation for a new abbrev or two, but an effort on the part of the reader would definitely be expected.

If you are someone who wants it spoon fed, something like a chris elliot column and similar blogs not FT would be more appropriate

Well don't put yourself out will you. :D

And how many threads did you try to read in their entirety before giving up?

FT is like a foreign language, no more and no less. There is a certain amount of time and effort required to learn it. There is grammer, there is vocab, there are rules, and exceptions, etc. When you initially read something, maybe only a little makes, but the longer you read it, moer of it makes sense and less of it doesn't make sense.

Would you seriously expect to understand a foreign language without doing any work whatsoever?

I agree with you.
I initially commented in response to the first poster who said "As a fairly new member, I struggle with all of the slang on FT." I was merely trying to say that he is not the only one to run into this.

I actually use the glossary regularly to determine the meanings of any terms that I am unfamiliar with, and, as you said, the longer you read it, more of it makes sense.

Thanks for the support. Newbies unite!