Abbreviations and Acronyms

I especially become irritated when I see acronyms in the title of a thread. With so many new beers on the market, they could mean anything. For example, what if I wrote a title like this;

HT to LA!

It must mean that Heady Topper is coming to Los Angeles, right? Or does it mean the poster is giving a Hat Tip to Los Alamitos for finding the poster a certain beer?

 

Here's a thought... If you type out the full name in the thread title, there's this really cool thing you can do.. Highlight it, hit CTRL+C, then magically every time you hit CTRL+V, it will re-insert the full name for you! That's only 2 keys! What a time saver, and as a bonus, there won't be anyone questioning what you're referring to, or having to open a new browser window to try to search out it's meaning!

 

I don't think it's laziness. It's about being efficient with communication, both from the typing and reading perspective. I can't imagine having to type out full brewery and beer names, especially in the title where you want to draw the most attention to your post of what you have and what you're looking for. Many trades involve multiple beers. As a reader, I want to scan and get as much info as I can without having to click on every post. I also want to get through a post quickly. Cut out abbreviations and you will see a lot more of FT: List / ISO: List and just really mundane repetitive Bourbon County Brand Stout, Bourbon County Brand Barleywine, Bourbon Country Brand Coffee Stout, Bourbon County Backyard Rye...on and on...

Again, I don't have any problem with the policy outside of the trading forum. When discussing a particular beer with a wider group of people, traders and non-traders, you need to appeal to the lowest common denominator. I feel that it works fine the way it is right now in the trading forum. Very few people ever complain about acronyms in the trading forum. Put up a poll and see how many traders would want everything spelled out each and every time. I doubt many would want this long-standing policy changed.

 

I do not think that it should be a bunch of acronyms. Unless it is the few main known ones. It is not the readers responsibility to figure out what the writer means. The writer is the one who is responsible to make sure they are understood. Not only are acronyms a problem but not writing out the whole beer name. For example, a person was looking for Darkness, There are numerous beers with the name darkness. So if the trader wants surly darkness but gets Squatters Outer Darkness, it is only the OP who can be blamed.

 

This has never ever happened so the problem doesn't exist. No one on the trading forum sees "Darkness" and thinks...oohh, he wants Squatters Outer Darkness (or Tired Hands I See A Darkness for that matter). Likewise for Lost Abbey V012 vs. Victory V12. You can tell by the corresponding portion of either the FT or ISO what is meant. No one is that dense, unless deliberately.

 

looks like a freakin algebraic formula on the forums to someone fairly new. I know when i started i was like what the hell is this
"IP CHI ISO 2xKBS & 2xBBPt5 FT 4pkBCBS"

seriously its funny that we all (or at least most of us) understand what this means.

 

How long and tedious could the name of a beer or brewery possibly be? It's not like we're asking for a list of ingredients... Are you the same people that prefer Smucker's Goober because you can't be bothered to open a can of peanut butter AND a can of jelly? < = Oh the humanity!

P.S. - Throw some croutons in there and you can eat a PB&J with a spoon! (Sorry, Brian Regan fan here)...

 

I liked that policy and wish it would come back.

 

I just find some of the acronyms humorous. I figure if I don't know the acronym, I probably don't need the beer. I also find it humorous that some people are too lazy if the ISO:FT post is short that the trader doesn't type out what they can. Ultimately they are limiting the number of people who may respond because some people don't know the acronyms. If I really want to figure out an acronym I usually ask. That being said I've seen tons of douchebags pass up somebody asking and don't bother telling them because they are too cool for school.

Edit: And when has BCS been "Black Chocolate Stout?" It is Brooklyn Chocolate Stout. Forgive me if I am wrong but I don't think Brooklyn has a "Black Chocolate Stout?!"

 

FWIW I learned a lot of the abbreviations used on BA fairly quickly, I don't like it at first, however now it doesn't bother me as much and think it's a little easier to understand, IMHO.

 

FWIW.... I don't think it's possible to learn all the acronyms but for the most part I think you're right.

 

I did not say all of them.
However I still think it's easy to learn a lot of them fairly quickly: SNPA, CCB, BCBS, OTWOA, WnB.....etc. If they are too complicated to figure them out within the post; well then they aren't worth knowing.

 

Who gets to decide what the most popular beers are?

 

This website, the users on here, the ratings. Duh!

 

Wow just wow! It's a newbies responsibility to look up every f'n acronym being used in the trading forum? "Do your homework" "put in the time." Bullshit! Why????? People are abusing acronyms left and right. Every fucking beer doesn't need a friggin acronym!! So damn many. You can't be bothered to actually spell something out??? And you have the gaul to say, "don't be lazy."???!!!"

I've been on this site for 10 plus years and have over 100 trades and I haven't a clue on at least a third of the acronyms being tossed around in the trading forum. It's people like you who jump up and down feeling all elite and superior to those new to the hobby who create this repulsive and douchebaggish culture.

"Suck it up. It won't change" What a pompous ass!!!!!

 

As an English major, I agree on principle alone (language, particularly English, has been adulterated with slang and pop culture references to such an extent that we now psuedo-communicate in a proto-language which is akin to what cavemen most likely spoke). Anyway (if you'll forgive the Liberal-Arts pretentiousness)...as a new member to BA, some abbreviations trip me up completely, with many abbreviations being entirely redundant. As for the beer snobbery - it goes far beyond abbreviations.

 

I've been on the site for 8 months, 7 months since I was able to trade. I completed 80 trades with 7 in progress. Of those, I initiated 3 trades through my posting, the rest were posted by my trade partners, yes full of these life-stalling difficult acronyms. I'm far from lazy. Every FT post I made, I spent time and meticulously detailed out everything I can, adding links to whatever necessary. See for yourself: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/search/29527552/ .

I just have not had a single problem understanding acronyms, figuring out acronyms on my own using search engines, or simply reply and ask what is ____ stands for? Elitist? Pompous? Call me whatever you want, I don't feel one fuck better than anyone here who don't know acronyms in the trading forums. I don't get why people think "elitist" with these acronyms. Maybe I'm just that fucking smart? Or maybe I'm not not too fucking lazy to look up shit instead of making people spell out everything every fucking time, sitting frustrated at the screen where Goog-fuckin-gle is right at your finger tips.

I've spent 8 years selling, buying, trading guns and gun parts. Hop over to the classifieds section of ar15.com and see the acronyms over there. No one over there ever complained. I started exactly the same way there as I started here, learning my way through the acronyms. It was no big fucking deal. It's not hard, really. If you want everything spelled out and served on a plate, don't trade or just boycott trades with abbreviations you don't know how to decipher.