The Internet is known for widespread use of abbrevations and acronyms. Pholks on the Phish.net use scores of additional ones to refer to songs and the like. This can be particularly confusing in environments that include lots of new folks.

• Bold entries are local (or at least in some way specific) to Phish.net.
• Italicized entries are relatively common throughout cyberspace, or elsewhere, or were at some time.

This is intended to be an exhaustive list of common ones, but you still use them at your own risk (of not communicating). See also, acronymn index.

• ABB: Allman Brothers Band
• AFAIK: as far as i know
• AFK: away from keyboard (esp. in IRC)
• AGR: Agents of Good Roots
• ALO: A Live One
• AIUI: as i understand it
• ASAP: as soon as possible
• ASZ: "Also Sprach Zarathustra", aka "2001"
• AUD: Audience recording of a show, made using microphones with in the taping section or FOB, as opposed to a recording made from the soundboard (2-track or otherwise), FM radio, pre-FM, local FM (e.g. for handicapped seating), or monitor feed.
• B&P or B and P: blanks and postage
• BATR: Bouncing Around the Room
• BBFCFM: Big Black Furry Creature From Mars (once argued as BFatFCFM, but released as Black on Hampton Comes Alive)
• BBS: be back soon (esp. in IRC)
• BBJ: Big Ball Jam or Beach Ball Jam or Big Beach Jam
• BOAF: Birds of a Feather
• BRB: be right back (esp. in IRC)
• BRTR: Bouncing Round the Room
• BTGOG: by the grace of God
• BTGOI: by the grace of Iculus
• BTSOOM: beats the shit out of me
• BTP: back to paul (alternative to FOB; see also BTP, RUF; compare OTS)
• BTW: by the way
• BUDD: Bountiful Universe of Digital Dead, a mailing list similar to digiphish
• BYOB: bring your own beverage/bottle/beer/bud
• CD: Compact Disk (See bootlegs, and CDR, below.
• CD-R: Compact Disk Recordable, compact discs that can be purchased blank and recorded to (for storing or transport, of data or music), or the drive that records them. Don't confuse CDRs traded not for profit with commercial bootlegs.
• CD-RW: Compact Disc ReWritables, compact discs that can be recorded to multiple times, by writing at a different angle, or the drive that can write (and rewrite) to CD-RW discs. Blanks typically cost 4-10 times as much.
• CDT: Chalkdust Torture
• CTB: Cars Trucks Busses
• CWYTWM: Come waste your time with me (chorus from orginal tune "Waste")
• DAO: Disk-At-Once recording, a process for writing CDRs that leaves no gaps between tracks.
• DAT: Digital Audio Tape, a technology for recording audio (or data) on tape digitally.
• DAUD: audience tape (see AUD) mastered on a DAT
• DAUD1: analag master of an audience tape, e.g. Mics > Dat > Analog, as opposed to DAUD2, which is Source > Dat > Analog master > Analog copy. (See generations.)
• DBB: deep banana blackout, a jam band
• DEG: "Dave's Energyguide"
• DFC: dead fucking center (as in good seats or good mic location)
• DMB: Dave Matthews Band
• DOL: Dude of Life
• DSBD: soundboard tape (see SBD) mastered on DAT
• DSBD1: analog master copy of a DSBD, i.e. SBD > DAT > Analog, constituting the first analog generation.
• DWD: Down with Disease
• ELOL: evil laugh out loud (see LOL below)
• FEFY: Fast Enough For You
• FM: Frequency Modulation, a technology for transmitting audio (or other data) along radio frequencies, or a tape made by capturing those transmissions
• FM1: master recording of an FM transmission (radio broadcast or otherwise; see AUD for other possibilities.)
• FMU: from my understanding
• FOB: Front of Board (tapes made with mics forward of the soundboard)
• FOTM: Fire on the Mountain
• FS: for sale
• FT: for trade
• FTF: face-to-face
• FTR: for the record
• FTM: for that matter
• FWIW: for what it's worth
• FWTW: for what that's worth
• FUBAR: fucked up beyond all recognition
• FYI: for your information
• GA: go ahead, used in TTY at the end of each line or request
• GCH: Giant Country Horns
• GD: the grateful dead
• GDTS: Grateful Dead Ticket Service
• GIAT: give it a try
• GTBT: Good Times Bad Times
• GR&D: grinning running and ducking (i.e. flame bait)
• GWOS: goes without saying
• HAND: have a nice day
• HQ: high quality, esp. in re a tape or recording, as in "ISO HQ 2/20/93" (i.e. "someone got a phat Roxy tape")
• HTH: happy to help
• HYHU: Hold Your Head Up
• IAC: in any case
• IAE: in any event
• IAH: i am hydrogen
• IANAL: i am not a lawyer
• IDK: i didn't know
• IIH: if it helps
• IIWY: if i were you
• IIRC: if i remember correctly
• IIUC: if i understand correctly
• IMO: in my opinion
• IMCO: in my considered opinion
• IMHBIO: in my humble but informed opinion
• IMHO: in my humble/honest opinion
• IMNSHO: in my not so humble opinion
• IOW: in other words
• IRC: internet relay chat
• IRL: in real life (as opposed to online)
• ISO: in search of, esp. in re tapes (as in "ISO HQ 2/20/93" or "ISO 12/31/99 tix")
• ITA: if that's alright
• ITNOI: in the name of Iculus
• JMP: jazz mandolin project
• KMA: kiss my alvin
• LOL: laugh out loud
• LXL: "limb by limb"
• MB: megabyte (1,024 kilobytes; a floppy disc is usually 1.4MB; a CDR is typically 640MB or 700MB)
• MD: MiniDisc, a technology for recording digital music on cute little teeny-weeny diskettes, which seemed like a good idea but hasn't really taken off in the way that DAT and CDR have.
• MO: Mail Order, as in Tickets-By-Mail
• MFMF: My Friend, My Friend
• MLB or MLBJ: Mind Left Body (Jam)
• MMGAMOIO: My minds got a mind of its own
• MMW: Medeski Martin and Wood (funky jazz trio)
• MO: mail order or money order
• MP3: sound file using a specific compression scheme recently popular on the internet
• MSO: My Sweet One
• NFW: no friggin' way
• NG: newgroup
• NICU: song title
• NOPC: no obligatory Phish content
• NPC: no Phish content
• NPC: not politically correct
• NRN: no reply necessary
• NSTAAFL: no such thing as a free lunch (may be TANSTAAFL, There Ain't...)
• NBTYRSP: now back to your regularly scheduled program(ming)
• NYE: new year's eve
• OMT: one more time
• OOC: out of control or out of commission
• OPC: obligatory Phish content
• OTN: on the net
• OTR: on the road
• OTOH: on the other hand
• OTS: official taper section (compare FOB, BTP, SCT, or RUF)
• PBs: the phunky bitches
• PB&J: peanut butter & jelly
• PB&J&B: peanut butter & jelly & bananas
• PITA: pain in the ass
• PLM: People for a Louder Mike
• PMITE: "punch me in the eye"
• PON: Picture of Nectar
• PS: Phish sighting, or post-script (something added below a signature on a letter)
• PTBM: Phish Tickets-by-Mail
• PYITE: Punch You In The Eye (orgininally PMITE)
• RLA or Antelope: Run Like an Antelope
• RMP (usually in lower case, rmp): rec.music.phish
• ROTFL: rolling on the floor laughing
• ROTFLMAO: rolling on the floor laughing my arse off
• RSN: real soon now
• RT: return (as in "RT address" for mailing tapes)
• RTFM: read the "friggin" manual/message; or, read the faq, man
• RUF: right up front (alternative to FOB; see also BTP, SCT; compare OTS)
• SBD: SoundBoaRD -- a tape made from the actual mixing console, rather than from microphone input. Typically an analog master recording, as opposed to DSBD which is initially recorded directly from the soundboard to DAT.
• SCT: self-centered tapers (alternative to FOB; see also BTP, RUF; compare OTS)
• SEG: shit-eating grin
• SCI: string cheese incident, a jam band from boulder colorado
• SITD: still in the dark
• SITM: Silent in the Morning
• SIYNE: smilies if you need em
• SK: used in TTY to indicate that you wish to disconnect
• SNAG: sensitive new age guy
• SNAFU: situation normal, all fucked up
• SSIA: subject says it all
• SSTTA: Sneakin Sally Through the Alley
• STTA: Surrender to the Air
• SOAM: Split Open & Melt (more commonly Split or Melt) or Scent of a Mule (more commonly Scent or Mule)
• TAB: Trey Anastasio Band, typically his Summer 2000 ("money love and change") tour but sometimes also to refer to his earlier "solo" tours (both of which included other musicians, inc. Tony and Russ).
• TAO: Track At Once, a method of recording to CDRs that places short artificial gaps between tracks
• TAYL: talk at ya later
• TBS: to be sure
• TBW: to begin with
• TFBT: Traders for a Better Tomorrow (was)
• TFTB: Theme From the Bottom (more commonly Theme)
• TGIF: thank god it's friday
• TGIF: thank gordon it's friday
• TIA: thanks in advance
• TIC: tongue in cheek
• TLA: three-letter acronym
• TLC: tender loving care
• TMI: too much information
• TMWSIY: The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday
• TOO: The Other Ones (post-Garcia Grateful Dead)
• TTYL: talk to ya later
• WAV: a WAV file (such as sound.wav or caspian.wav) is a kind of sound file
• WAYSIYEM: What Are You Saying In You Enjoy Myself and its variant WATSIYEM: What Are They Saying In You Enjoy Myself (but remember: it's an acronym because its an overused question!)
• 'Ween: Halloween (vs. simply Ween, the band)
• WMGGW: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
• WOTC: "Walls of the Cave", a Phish original
• WRT: with respect to
• WSP: Widespread Panic
• WTB: Wanted To Buy (as in, ":WTB: 2 for Lakewood", indicating the desire to pay for two Atlanta tickets)
• WTF: what the fuck
• WTR: Wanted To Rent
• WUDMTF : Washa Uffitze Drive Me to Firenze (probably WTASIYEM)
• WWW: world wide web
• YEM: You Enjoy Myself
• YHABIYE: you have a banana in your ear, and its variant ICHWYSIHABIME....
• YHBT: you have been trolled (as when someone has posted flamebait and you flame them)
• YHL: you have lost (often YHBT HYL HAND, as on alt.society.generation-x)
• YMMV: your mileage may vary
• YYSSW: yeah yeah sure sure whatever

Note: Many titles can be shortened to one word. Except for TMWSIY, abbreviations may only lead to later confusion, whereas one-wording will be pretty darn clear, or at least real darn close. (e.g. Creature, Hood, Ice, Antelope....)

Thanks to Dan Mielcarz, Mike Lerdawg, Rob H at Columbia;, SJack, Beth Haas, Paul D. Crittenden, Taylor, Craig Volpe, James McMullen, Andrew Cogan, and Kristen Godard, among others in the Phish.Net; and to Brad Jackson, for his 1/26/92 post to SAS-L.

See also, more complete list, as well as Emoticon Dictionaries 1, 2, 3.

"[Other species] tend to work with what's there. They don't really change the basic structure of it."
-- Jon Fishman, 4/22/92 interview with Shelly Culbertson