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!

yup
 

its true there are things like airport codes and fare classes that have strange abbrieviations, until you learn them, but some of the stuff here is unnessesarily abbreviated out of laziness...how hard is it to type upgrade instead of UG or boarding pass instead of BP...was this site started by court stenographers?
If you continue to make up abbreviations, dont be snotty if someone occasionally asks for a translation.
If we are making up abbr i think we ought to call skymiles skypesos because SM could also mean SkyMall... so if we start calling delta's FF points SP would it catch on?

Please see my post above ... btw, totally unimpressed that with less than two months as a registered member, you are going to tell people posting here for years and having no problems conversing how they should change their habits to what? Accomodate laziness? Inability to look things up? Says a lot right there. :td:


For the original poster - none of my posts refer to you or your original post, but to subsequent posts/comments

No worries.

When in Rome.... :)

If you don't have one already, I'd develop a seriously thick skin as well. There's a lot of snarky, elitest folks on here that enjoy pouring extra portions of misery and/or status ranking on others, rather sad actually.

another grumpy old timer
 

[QUOTE=GoingAway;13969208]Please see my post above ... btw, totally unimpressed that with less than two months as a registered member, you are going to tell people posting here for years and having no problems conversing how they should change their habits to what? Accomodate laziness? Inability to look things up? Says a lot right there. :td:

would it impress you more to know that I first joined about the same time as you did, struggled for the first month to make sense of the spew of anagrams and abbreviations, and after 6 moths quit reading. I came back, rejoined, and now post because I am interested in points, and want to help others with current info. I wonder how many of your 10000+ posts are insults and jabs at newer members looking for answers, and how many are informative posts.

Yes, you have a point, if you spent a month trying to make sense of the anagrams and abbreviations readily available in the glossary, then I am fairly certain it is not laziness! :D

Welcome to the world of internet forums. All forums are likes this. Longtime members get accustomed to doing things a certain way, and they don't like to take time out of what they are doing to deal with someone who is new to a site. Most don't like newbies at all. However, new members here or anywhere shouldn't be put off by the snarkiness of certain members. There's always longtime members who are willing to point you in the right direction, in a kind and helpful way. Just ignore the ones who would rather call you lazy and dumb and move on. Don't judge the entire site by a few members.

Anyway, when I first started coming here, I tried to find a glossary of terms. I knew all the airport codes, but not the day to day abbreviations. The first place I looked was for a stickied post going over the glossary, as it is in most forums. I never thought to look under HELP, assuming that would be about account and contact help. See, how would you expect a new member to decipher a PM like that if they had no idea where the glossary was?

Perhaps a stickied thread or a thread going over everything newbies should know would help out both longtime members and new recruits.

One last thing... I really do appreciate everything that is contributed by all members here. I have learned a lot and saved a lot with this information, long before I became a member. Flyertalk as a whole is extremely helpful.

To the OP, I've been a member for going on eight years and I still have to look up certain terms. For instance, it took me a while to realize that DW and DH were Dear Wife and Dear Husband.

THANKS!!!! I gave up on what the "D" meant years ago.

We were ALL newbies at one time. Often you can figure out Abbr. by the context of the sentence. Some Abbrevs. are specific to FT and others are used by sites through the web. Just like any other social group, acceptance comes easier when you are willing to make an effort to understand what is going on before complaining about how things are done. I think most of us have spent time in the glossary or perhaps doing a search on abbreviations or other lingo.

It's not laziness it is just the nature and culture of the beast that causes us to abbreviate. it happens in hobbies, sports and in professions. Every group whether they be in IT, doctors or "shredders" (snow boarders) use abbreviations and slang in discussing their interests. This is no different. No one knows everything right away. Don't forget that even going from one Airline forum to the next will require learning new terminology. Just give it a little time and effort. And Welcome.

The people that are using the "slang" aren't the ones being referred to as lazy ;)

Thanks for all the good posts. I've noticed improvement in my understanding over the last few months. I'm sure all the slang in my field (medicine), would be difficult for an outsider.

Now anagrams would be fun! (Perhaps you means acronyms?)

Mileage Plus = Plague Slime
Star Alliance = Tall Canaries, Anal Articles, or Nasal Recital

Ah - so that's what they mean - :)

I have enjoyed reading the acronyms - figuring out what they mean - learning the airport codes - it's all rather like a puzzle and eventually the pieces do fall into place. I've run across some incredibly helpful members and conversely, even found myself being flamed once for asking what I thought was an okay question. Obviously it wasn't okay to that particular person. (First layer of thick skin applied at that point.) There are a couple of terms which may pop up that are not in the 'Glossary' but I'm sure their meanings will present themselves in due time.... sort of like DW and DH.

Mais oui ! :)

The good news is that I would not have got "plague slime" had I not replaced acronyms with anagrams !

I've been chastised for misusing the J and C fare buckets. Both mean Business Class in most cases, but some airlines do not use one or the other at all.

I dropped a "J" reference on a "C" airline's board and quickly got flamed for it. :eek: Or maybe it was the other way around...who knows...

Thanks, EbayExpert! I joined a few years ago, but rarely post - I can make out the lingo, but can't write it (guess that means I can read it but can't speak it!) and my skin is way too thin! ;) I feel sorry for the "snarky" (love that word) members, but there are always a few just nasty people where ever you go. Most folks seem to be really nice and enjoy sharing their knowledge, and I appreciate learning. The Glossary is very helpful, and my only problem is a quick look at FT usually ends hours later - sigh - it's as bad as Facebook for time "wasting"!

LOL!

Personally, I find it hard to believe that navigation, the site layout, and basic abbrevs are all that hard to figure out. After all it does say, "Welcome to MilesBuzz! Read me first!"

I don't get spun up either way. Too many flights and not enough days in the year as it is :)

Like MOLA, for example?? ;) :D

Dave

Let me try: "MOLA" - Korean slang meaning "Beats me" (as in "I don't know, either").

Unfortunately, I don't think that one ever caught on.

It's a term I coined for "Misinformed Or Lying Agent" a couple of years ago.

Around 1980 there were some (or an) Aussie researchers at U. of Tex. at Austin studying the intriguing use of acronyms by Americans. Apparently we Americans at large were already heavy into using them then in comparison to the Australians.

aussies vs yanks
 

Aussies just make up entire words usually in a pair that rhyme...Americans were getting ready for text messaging, where making up abbreviations will render a whole generation too stupid to write complete sentences.

The future tense is not needed, the future is now. :D