TANSTAAFL

When I first went online over a decade ago, TANSTAAFL was the first acronym I ran into that I had no idea what it meant. Most know about the commonly used acronyms like LOL (Laugh Online or Laugh Out Loud) and FYI (For Your Information). There are a ton of acronyms in existence that are not used as much (or used only within groups of folks who know what they mean) so to use them arbitrarily wouldn't be a good idea.

When using acronyms you need to consider if the person other side will know what that acronym means. Otherwise what's the point? You also want to be very careful to not use acronyms in business communications or with those you don't know very well. Acronyms are a very informal mode of communicating and when used in the wrong venue could be viewed as lazy or unprofessional.

A good rule of thumb is to use acronyms sparingly while always keeping in mind the intended party and situation.

There is a listing of the most commonly used acronyms on my Web site for your convenience, including an acronym finder tool for those I don't have listed:

http://www.netmanners.com/email_acronyms.html

HTH! BTW, TANSTAAFL stands for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch". LOL! ;-)