'LOL'

I can only apologize if this topic has been addressed before, but in this electronic age, conveying true emotion in a visible, written form is a necessary art, and one that, currently, does not have many suitable mediums. And of these, the most common and difficult emotion is humour (Yes, with a ‘U’, we can discuss that elsewhere).

One of the most common, and oldest, ways of expressing humour is the acronym ‘LOL’. It refers, obviously, to the expression ‘Laughing Out Loud’ (And not, as British Prime Minister David Cameron thought, ‘Lots Of Love’). I’m sure, in the early days of electronic communication, it was considered a clever, succinct way to express humour. However, the years have not been kind to ‘LOL’. Firstly, it is overused to the point that it is increasingly difficult to use it without sounding ironic. Secondly, the literal meaning of the term is out of sync with it’s usage. Rarely do we indeed ‘laugh out loud’, which means not only that it is usually inaccurate, but that when we do indeed laugh out loud, we are at a loss for words that can portray that.

Of course, steps have evolved to counteract this issue. The smiley face, the emoticon, or emoji, exclamation marks to counter wrongly implied irony. There are alternatives, such as ‘ROFL’, which carries many of the same issues, ‘ha ha’, which sounds far more ironic, and other, less suitable acronyms I’ll deign not to mention. Many, certainly in my experience, use ‘LOL’ together with some kind of self-referential nudge, or apologetically. This negates the entire purpose of the term, which is for speed and ease of use. And before you suggest emoticons should become the new gold standard, consider firstly that many forums, including this one, don’t have them, and secondly, that we should seek to improve our linguistic communication without resorting to the crude facsimiles of emotions displayed by these irritating little smiley faces.

So, what I’m asking is, can any of us think of some alternative to this overused abomination of the English language. Perhaps a sliding scale of acronyms and words, used to get across the precise impact of humour felt by the listener/reader. Some other acronym that better describes laughing. The floor is open, even to our American cousins, with their abysmal track record as far as words are concerned (I refer here to the country as a collective, not the individual esteemed posters on this excellent forum). Of course, let me forestall what I’m sure many are thinking by saying the real answer is face to face, genuine communication.

But anyway, let’s discuss…