brb, g2g, a/s/l: the 2000s chat slang glossary

Every txt cost money and every keystroke counted, so we invented a whole language. Here it is, for anyone who's forgotten (or never knew).

Coming and going

Slang	Means
brb	Be right back. Usually meant "someone needs the phone line".
bbl	Be back later. Longer than brb.
g2g / gtg	Got to go.
ttyl	Talk to you later.
l8r / cya	Later / see ya.
wb	Welcome back. The polite reply to someone returning.
afk	Away from keyboard.
gn	Goodnight. Followed by 20 minutes of not actually leaving.

Asking questions

Slang	Means
a/s/l	Age, sex, location. The classic chat room opener.
wbu / hbu	What about you? / How about you?
wyd	What are you doing?
sup	What's up?
nm / nmu	Not much / not much, you?
y?	Why?

Reacting

Slang	Means
lol	Laughing out loud (usually not out loud).
rofl	Rolling on the floor laughing.
lmao	Laughing very hard.
omg	Oh my god.
jk	Just kidding.
oic	Oh, I see.
kk	Okay.
np	No problem.
idk	I don't know.
tbh	To be honest.

Secret codes

Slang	Means
pos	Parent over shoulder. Change the subject now.
p911	Parent alert, same thing but urgent.
hugs	A virtual hug. Asterisks meant an action.
...	Something is wrong and you have to ask.

And the emoticons

The other half of the language was emoticons: :) ;) :P (Y) (L) and the rest. They have their own cheat sheet, and on Chatroom they turn into faces as you type.

Should you still use them?

Absolutely. In the Throwback rooms, a well-placed "brb" or "pos" is half the fun. Just maybe skip a/s/l as an opener; "what was your old screen name?" works better. Here's how to pick yours.

Sign up free and say gn properly this time.