NETYM OLOGY № 001
UPDATED
CONTINUOUSLY
NETYMOLOGY / DIGITAL ANTHROPOLOGY / VOL. 1

The internet has been inventing its own language for decades.

A Field Guide to Internet Slang

01 Chat Rooms
02 Forums
03 Gaming
04 Social Media
05 Meme Culture
06 Short-Form Video
START EXPLORING
METHOD NOTE

Slang rarely has a neat birth certificate. Dates and “first uses” are often uncertain, and many expressions existed in speech or smaller communities before becoming visible online. This guide describes periods and communities associated with a term’s rise—not ownership certificates.

01

DIAL-UP PERIOD / TEXT MOVES FAST

The Early Internet

Chat rooms, BBSs, IRC, message boards, and instant messengers made conversation feel immediate—but keyboards, slow connections, and text-only interfaces rewarded brevity.

FIELD NOTEShortcuts did more than save keystrokes. They supplied tone, timing, and social cues that plain text was missing.
01.01 CHAT ABBREVIATION

LOL

MEANING TODAY

A marker of laughter, amusement, friendliness, or softened tone.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Circulated through early online chat and bulletin-board culture by the late 1980s; stories about a single inventor are difficult to verify.

THEN

Usually expanded as “laughing out loud” and used as a direct reaction to a joke.

NOW

Often means anything from “that is funny” to “I am making this sentence less severe.”

“I sent the file to the wrong group chat lol.”
MEANING SHIFT Expanded
01.02 AWAY MESSAGE

BRB

MEANING TODAY

Be right back; a brief pause in a live conversation.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Real-time chat rooms, IRC, and instant messaging, where leaving without explanation could feel abrupt.

THEN

A practical status update before stepping away from the keyboard.

NOW

Still literal, though sometimes used jokingly for a dramatic exit or longer absence.

MEANING SHIFT Mostly unchanged
01.03 IRC + GAMING

AFK

MEANING TODAY

Away from keyboard; temporarily unavailable.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Chat and multiplayer gaming communities, where teammates needed to know who had stopped responding.

THEN

A literal warning that the person was not at their computer.

NOW

Used in games, work chat, and sometimes speech for being offline or unavailable.

“Going AFK for dinner.”
MEANING SHIFT Expanded
01.04 IDENTITY MARKER

IRL

MEANING TODAY

In real life; outside the current online setting.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Early online communities distinguishing screen names and virtual spaces from offline identity.

THEN

Marked a firm border between internet life and physical life.

NOW

Still useful, though the border feels blurrier now that online life is everyday life.

MEANING SHIFT Changed significantly
01.05 FORUM ETIQUETTE

IMO / IMHO

MEANING TODAY

In my opinion / in my humble opinion.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Longstanding written abbreviations that became fixtures of forums, email lists, and Usenet discussion.

THEN

Framed a statement as personal judgment rather than settled fact.

NOW

Still frames opinions; “IMHO” can be sincere, dry, or pointedly not humble.

MEANING SHIFT Mostly unchanged
01.06 REACTION TEXT

LMAO

MEANING TODAY

A stronger, more emphatic laugh reaction than LOL.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Chat rooms and message boards extended the family of typed laughter abbreviations.

THEN

Signaled that something was extremely funny.

NOW

Works as reaction, punctuation, exaggeration, or disbelief—even without literal laughter.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
01.07 SHORTHAND

BTW

MEANING TODAY

By the way; a quick pivot or extra thought.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Popular in email, chat, and messaging where compact transitions kept conversations moving.

THEN

Introduced an aside without typing the full phrase.

NOW

Common across texts, comments, and casual workplace chat.

MEANING SHIFT Became mainstream
01.08 COMMUNITY DOCUMENT

FAQ

MEANING TODAY

Frequently asked questions, usually collected in one reference page.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Mailing lists and Usenet groups used FAQ documents to stop recurring questions from overwhelming discussions.

THEN

A community-maintained survival guide for newcomers.

NOW

A standard section on nearly every kind of website, service, or product page.

MEANING SHIFT Became mainstream
01.09 FORUM RESPONSE

TL;DR

MEANING TODAY

Too long; didn’t read—or the short summary that follows.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Associated with early-2000s forums and Usenet-style discussion, where very long posts invited blunt replies.

THEN

Often a dismissive response to a wall of text.

NOW

Frequently a helpful label introducing a concise summary.

“TL;DR: the update is delayed until Friday.”
MEANING SHIFT Changed significantly
01.10 STATUS LABEL

NEWBIE / NOOB

MEANING TODAY

A newcomer; “noob” often implies inexperience or poor judgment.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

“Newbie” predates the web and spread through computing, military, and hobby communities; online games popularized sharper variants like “newb” and “noob.”

THEN

Distinguished beginners from established members, sometimes neutrally and sometimes as an insult.

NOW

Still used in gaming and tech, often playfully or self-deprecatingly.

MEANING SHIFT Mostly unchanged
02

MESSAGE BOARDS / LAN PARTIES / IMAGE MACROS

Forums, Gaming & Early Meme Culture

Forums gave conversations structure. Games made language competitive. Early meme communities turned repetition, misspelling, and copying into creative tools.

FIELD NOTEMany terms escaped their original subcultures because screenshots, quotes, and reposts carried local language into new rooms.
02.01 USENET BEHAVIOR

TROLL

MEANING TODAY

Someone who provokes people online, often to produce conflict or attention.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

The internet sense developed in late-1980s and early-1990s communities; it may draw on “trolling” as baiting for a response as well as the mythical creature.

THEN

Often described bait posted so experienced users could identify outsiders who took it seriously.

NOW

A broad label for disruptive, abusive, insincere, or deliberately inflammatory behavior.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
02.02 NETIQUETTE

FLAME

MEANING TODAY

A hostile or insulting online message; to attack someone in a discussion.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Early network and bulletin-board culture used “flaming” for heated personal attacks.

THEN

A recognizable breach of discussion etiquette, sometimes escalating into a “flame war.”

NOW

The behavior remains common, but the term itself feels increasingly archival.

MEANING SHIFT Mostly nostalgic now
02.03 COMMUNITY ROLE

LURKER

MEANING TODAY

Someone who reads a community without posting.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Message boards, mailing lists, and chat rooms made silent participation visible as a social role.

THEN

Could be neutral, suspicious, or a stage before introducing yourself.

NOW

Still a common and usually neutral description of quiet audience members.

MEANING SHIFT Mostly unchanged
02.04 THREAD ANATOMY

OP

MEANING TODAY

Original poster—or original post, depending on context.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Threaded forums and boards needed a compact way to refer back to the person or message that began a discussion.

THEN

Helped long threads stay oriented around their starting point.

NOW

Standard vocabulary on Reddit, forums, comment sections, and screenshot reposts.

MEANING SHIFT Became mainstream
02.05 INTERFACE LANGUAGE

THREAD

MEANING TODAY

A connected sequence of posts or messages.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Computing and message-board interfaces represented replies as linked discussion threads.

THEN

A forum topic with replies nested or ordered beneath it.

NOW

Also means a sequence of posts by one account on social media, plus grouped emails or messages.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
02.06 FORUM MECHANIC

BUMP

MEANING TODAY

A reply added mainly to push an older thread back into view.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Chronological forums moved recently updated topics to the top, making a tiny reply an attention tool.

THEN

Users literally posted “bump” to revive a quiet question or listing.

NOW

Still appears in forums, marketplace groups, and comments, though algorithmic feeds changed the tactic.

MEANING SHIFT Mostly unchanged
02.07 GAMING TAUNT

PWNED

MEANING TODAY

Thoroughly defeated, embarrassed, or dominated.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Gaming culture popularized “pwn,” generally understood as a typo or playful alteration of “own,” though neat origin stories are hard to prove.

THEN

Celebrated a decisive win over another player.

NOW

Mostly nostalgic outside gaming, often used to evoke 2000s internet culture.

MEANING SHIFT Mostly nostalgic now
02.08 MULTIPLAYER

RAGEQUIT

MEANING TODAY

To leave a game or situation abruptly because of anger or frustration.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Online multiplayer games made a furious disconnect visible to everyone still in the match.

THEN

Described a player quitting immediately after losing or being provoked.

NOW

Used beyond games for dramatic exits from jobs, chats, apps, or frustrating tasks.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
02.09 CULTURAL REPLICATION

MEME

MEANING TODAY

A reusable cultural unit—often an image, phrase, format, or behavior—that spreads through imitation.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Richard Dawkins coined “meme” in 1976 for cultural transmission; internet communities later narrowed and remixed it around shareable online formats.

THEN

Online, it often referred to recurring jokes and image-macro templates understood by a community.

NOW

A mainstream word for rapidly copied and transformed culture, online or off.

MEANING SHIFT Changed significantly
02.10 REPOST CULTURE

COPYPASTA

MEANING TODAY

A block of text copied and reposted repeatedly, usually for humor, ritual, or disruption.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

A playful mutation of “copy-paste” associated with forums and imageboards in the 2000s.

THEN

Repeated text became recognizable through sheer circulation and strategic misuse.

NOW

Includes scripted replies, fandom monologues, absurd stories, and text memes across platforms.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
03

FOLLOW COUNTS / HASHTAGS / PUBLIC PERFORMANCE

Social Media Changed the Language

Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Instagram, and YouTube compressed many communities into public feeds. A phrase could move from an in-group joke to a headline in days.

FIELD NOTEPlatform features became verbs, social tactics became nouns, and private community language was repeatedly detached from its original context.
03.01 PLATFORM FEATURE

DM

MEANING TODAY

A direct message sent privately through a social platform.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Platform interfaces normalized “direct message” as the private counterpart to public posts.

THEN

A noun naming a specific inbox feature.

NOW

Also a verb: to contact someone privately, sometimes across almost any app.

“DM me the address.”
MEANING SHIFT Became mainstream
03.02 FEED ANXIETY

FOMO

MEANING TODAY

Fear of missing out on an experience, event, or social connection.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

The phrase predates its acronym, which gained visibility in the 2000s and fit social media’s constant stream of other people’s activities.

THEN

Described anxiety about choosing one social event over another.

NOW

Covers product drops, news cycles, trends, trips, investments, and nearly any visible opportunity.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
03.03 DISTRIBUTION

VIRAL

MEANING TODAY

Spreading rapidly from person to person through sharing and recommendation.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

The disease metaphor was applied to ideas and marketing before social media, then became central to describing online reach.

THEN

Often described email chains, videos, or campaigns that spread unusually fast.

NOW

A routine metric and aspiration, sometimes applied to even a brief burst of attention.

MEANING SHIFT Became mainstream
03.04 FANDOM

STAN

MEANING TODAY

An intensely devoted fan; also, to enthusiastically support someone or something.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Drawn from Eminem’s 2000 song “Stan,” whose title character is an obsessive fan; fandoms later repurposed the name online.

THEN

Usually carried a darker warning about unhealthy obsession.

NOW

Often a cheerful declaration of fandom, though the obsessive edge remains available.

“I stan this extremely specific spreadsheet.”
MEANING SHIFT Changed significantly
03.05 INDIRECT SPEECH

SUBTWEET

MEANING TODAY

A post about someone that avoids naming or tagging them directly.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Twitter users coined the term from “subliminal” plus “tweet” to describe indirect public commentary.

THEN

Relied on shared context: the intended person and nearby observers were expected to recognize the target.

NOW

Used for indirect posts on any platform, even when no tweet is involved.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
03.06 METRIC AS VERDICT

RATIO

MEANING TODAY

A sign that a post is being publicly rejected, especially when replies vastly outnumber positive reactions.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Twitter users began reading engagement counts as a visible verdict; replying “ratio” turned that observation into a challenge.

THEN

Described a numerical imbalance under a bad or controversial tweet.

NOW

A verb, taunt, or general label for being outperformed in public engagement.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
03.07 PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

CANCEL

MEANING TODAY

To withdraw support from a public figure or organization after perceived wrongdoing.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

The phrasing has roots in Black popular culture and Black Twitter discourse before becoming a mainstream media label.

THEN

Could be a witty, collective declaration that someone was “done” or no longer worth attention.

NOW

An overloaded political and media term covering criticism, boycotts, consequences, harassment, and ordinary disagreement.

MEANING SHIFT Changed significantly
03.08 REPLY CULTURE

CLAPBACK

MEANING TODAY

A sharp, confident response to criticism or insult.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Associated with Black speech and hip-hop culture, then amplified through celebrity and social-media exchanges.

THEN

A forceful comeback within a conflict.

NOW

Any especially satisfying public reply may be framed as a clapback.

MEANING SHIFT Became mainstream
03.09 SCREENSHOT EVIDENCE

RECEIPTS

MEANING TODAY

Screenshots, links, or records offered as proof of a claim.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

The evidence metaphor grew through gossip, fandom, reality-TV discussion, and Black online discourse.

THEN

Proof presented during a dispute: messages, dates, and contradictions.

NOW

A common label for almost any documentation used to verify an online story.

“If you are making that claim, bring receipts.”
MEANING SHIFT Became mainstream
03.10 ATTENTION TACTIC

THIRST TRAP

MEANING TODAY

A deliberately attractive post intended to draw admiration or desire.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Social media combined “thirst” as desire with the idea of content designed to catch attention.

THEN

Usually described revealing selfies or carefully posed photos.

NOW

Can describe any knowingly alluring image, video, outfit, or performance.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
04

STREAMS / SHORT VIDEO / RAPID REMIX

The Newer Internet

Discord servers, Twitch chat, TikTok, and short-form video accelerate language through sound, captions, duets, reaction clips, and algorithmic repetition.

FIELD NOTEMany “new internet” terms are not new words at all. Older slang, dialect, fandom language, and community speech often receive a new audience—and a new meaning.
04.01 GAMING REVIVAL

SUS

MEANING TODAY

Suspicious, untrustworthy, or giving reason for doubt.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

An old abbreviation with history in British and Australian slang; the game Among Us made it globally visible in 2020.

THEN

Long meant “suspicious” in several offline and online settings.

NOW

A compact reaction to anything questionable, often with an Among Us echo.

MEANING SHIFT Became mainstream
04.02 STREAMER SLANG

RIZZ

MEANING TODAY

Charm or skill in attracting someone; also, to charm.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Streamer Kai Cenat and his circle are widely credited with popularizing the term around 2021. It is often linked to “charisma,” though Cenat has disputed that explanation.

THEN

Rated someone’s ability to talk to and attract a potential partner.

NOW

A playful measure of charm applied to people, characters, animals, and absurd situations.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
04.03 FANDOM → TIKTOK

DELULU

MEANING TODAY

Delusional—sometimes irrational, sometimes boldly optimistic.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Rose in online K-pop fandoms in the early 2010s, though earlier or parallel uses are possible.

THEN

Critiqued fans who treated imagined celebrity relationships or theories as fact.

NOW

Can affectionately describe unrealistic confidence: the delusion is part of the strategy.

“A little delulu, but I applied anyway.”
MEANING SHIFT Changed significantly
04.04 FANDOM LANGUAGE

LORE

MEANING TODAY

The accumulated backstory needed to understand a person, joke, or ongoing situation.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Fantasy, gaming, and fandom communities used “lore” for a fictional world’s history and rules.

THEN

Referred mainly to canon and world-building.

NOW

Everyone has “lore”: old posts, recurring friends, workplace drama, and personal backstory.

MEANING SHIFT Changed significantly
04.05 BALLROOM → MAINSTREAM

SLAY

MEANING TODAY

To perform exceptionally well or look exceptionally good.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

The praise sense has deep ties to Black and Latino queer communities and ballroom culture, later spreading through pop culture and social media.

THEN

Celebrated a commanding performance, look, or presence within community contexts.

NOW

Broad online praise, sometimes sincere and sometimes deliberately deadpan.

MEANING SHIFT Became mainstream
04.06 VINE ERA

YEET

MEANING TODAY

To throw something forcefully; also an exclamation of energy or commitment.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Spread through Vine-era dance and video culture in the mid-2010s, with several creators and clips contributing to its rise.

THEN

An excited exclamation attached to movement or a dance.

NOW

Most often a comic verb for launching an object—or yourself—away.

MEANING SHIFT Changed significantly
04.07 LOG-OFF COMMAND

TOUCH GRASS

MEANING TODAY

Log off, regain perspective, and reconnect with ordinary offline life.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Gaming and social communities turned physical grass into shorthand for the world beyond the screen.

THEN

Dismissed someone as spending too much time online or gaming.

NOW

A common reply to obsessive, overcomplicated, or wildly out-of-proportion online behavior.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
04.08 VIDEO AESTHETIC

MAIN CHARACTER

MEANING TODAY

Someone acting as though life is a story centered entirely on them.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Social-video trends encouraged users to romanticize daily life through cinematic “main character” framing.

THEN

Aspirational: treat ordinary moments as important and aesthetically meaningful.

NOW

Both empowering and critical, especially in “main character syndrome.”

MEANING SHIFT Changed significantly
04.09 CAPTION FORMAT

POV

MEANING TODAY

A label framing a video, joke, or scenario from a particular viewpoint.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

“Point of view” is an established storytelling term; short-form video turned “POV:” into a flexible caption format.

THEN

In video, it usually meant the camera literally represented someone’s visual perspective.

NOW

Often introduces any skit or scenario, even when the camera angle is not technically first-person.

MEANING SHIFT Changed significantly
04.10 MENTAL REAL ESTATE

RENT FREE

MEANING TODAY

Occupying someone’s thoughts repeatedly without effort or invitation.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

The older “living rent-free in your head” metaphor became a compact social-media retort.

THEN

Accused a person of obsessing over someone they disliked.

NOW

Also describes songs, scenes, jokes, and memories that are pleasantly unforgettable.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
04.11 EVIDENCE MEME

CAUGHT IN 4K

MEANING TODAY

Caught doing something with extremely clear evidence.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

High-resolution video became a metaphor for undeniable proof, boosted by reaction memes and social posts around 2020.

THEN

Pointed to literal footage or screenshots exposing someone.

NOW

Used whenever a contradiction, mistake, or awkward moment is plainly documented.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded
04.12 SELF-DIAGNOSIS

CHRONICALLY ONLINE

MEANING TODAY

So immersed in internet discourse that one’s perspective becomes distorted or overly niche.

OPEN FIELD NOTES
WHERE IT CAME FROM

Social-media users developed it as a diagnosis of habits and arguments shaped by constant feed exposure.

THEN

Criticized people who treated online conflicts as if they represented everyday life.

NOW

A broad, often self-aware label for knowing too much platform-specific context.

MEANING SHIFT Expanded

TRANSMISSION STUDY / 04 SAMPLES

Slang Evolution

A term changes as new communities repeat it, misunderstand it, improve it, or make it useful for something else.

01STAN
Narrative song Fandom label Social verb Everyday enthusiasm

A warning about obsession became a mostly positive declaration of support.

02MEME
Academic concept Forum in-joke Shareable format Mainstream culture

A theory of cultural transmission narrowed into a specific internet object—then widened again.

03SUS
Older slang Gaming shorthand Among Us meme General reaction

A century-old abbreviation received a highly visible new costume.

04LORE
Traditional knowledge Fantasy canon Fandom analysis Personal backstory

The history of an imagined world became the history of your group chat.

COMMUNITY TERM → MEME → SOCIAL MEDIA → MAINSTREAM SPEECH → ???

RATE OF CHANGE / HIGH

Why Internet Slang Changes So Fast

Online slang behaves less like a formal vocabulary and more like a live group experiment. A phrase can begin in one small community, cross several platforms in a weekend, and arrive in everyday speech with a new tone, audience, or meaning.

01

Speed

Fast conversation rewards language that is easy to type, repeat, and recognize. Abbreviations, clipped words, and reaction phrases let people respond before the moment has passed.

COMMON MOVE Long thought → instant signal

“I am laughing” becomes LOL; a longer judgment becomes a single reusable reaction.

02

Community

Every group develops verbal shortcuts that carry shared history. Knowing how and when to use them signals belonging; using them incorrectly can reveal that someone is outside the original context.

COMMON MOVE Shared reference → identity marker

A niche phrase works like a password until screenshots, reposts, or new members carry it elsewhere.

03

Humor

Misspellings, exaggeration, irony, and deliberate misuse are productive online. One funny post becomes a template, and repetition turns its most memorable wording into portable slang.

COMMON MOVE Mistake → joke → accepted form

The “wrong” spelling often survives because it preserves the voice and timing of the original joke.

04

Platforms

Interfaces shape expression: character limits encourage compression, livestreams favor quick reactions, and short video helps phrases travel through sound. Moving platforms often changes how a term is spelled or understood.

COMMON MOVE New format → new grammar

A typed phrase may become a reaction image, a caption pattern, a sound bite, or something said aloud.

05

Remixing

Internet language is built by copying with variation. Users turn nouns into verbs, intensify ordinary words, revive old expressions, and combine references until the remix works without its original source.

COMMON MOVE Template → endless variations

People keep the recognizable structure but swap in a new subject, mood, spelling, or cultural reference.

06

Mainstream adoption

Once a term reaches brands, news coverage, parents, or the wider public, its social function shifts. Early users may abandon it, use it ironically, or invent a replacement that restores a sense of insider knowledge.

COMMON MOVE Insider term → public cliché

Wider recognition increases reach but can flatten context, change tone, or make the original users move on.

SLANG ARCHAEOLOGY

DO PEOPLE
STILL SAY THIS?

These classifications are playful field observations, not expiration dates. Slang can go quiet, return ironically, or become sincere again without warning.

01

ROFL

Still understood; rarely the first laugh typed.

OCCASIONALLY RESURRECTED
02

kewl

A preserved specimen of deliberate 1990s misspelling.

INTERNET FOSSIL
03

leetspeak

Its substitutions survive in usernames, gamer tags, and visual jokes.

EVOLVED
04

epic fail

Returns whenever 2009 needs to enter the room.

OCCASIONALLY RESURRECTED
05

facepalm

Now as likely to appear as an image or emoji as a typed stage direction.

STILL ALIVE
06

derp

Recognizable, but carrying heavy early-2010s sediment.

INTERNET FOSSIL
07

YOLO

From sincere motto to ironic permission slip and back again.

EVOLVED
08

on fleek

A period piece that still knows exactly what it means.

OCCASIONALLY RESURRECTED

ROUGH CHRONOLOGY / OVERLAPS EXPECTED

Four Eras of Online Language

These eras describe changes in the places where online language spread—not clean boundaries. Older habits survive inside newer platforms, and many “internet” expressions began in spoken language, music, regional communities, fandoms, or subcultures before appearing on a screen.

1

BBS · IRC · USENET

1980s–1990s

LOL · BRB · FAQ · FLAME

Text-only spaces made tone difficult to read and typing speed unusually important. Users developed abbreviations, emoticons, technical shorthand, and rules for managing conversation among strangers.

KEY SHIFTWriting begins to imitate the timing and informality of speech.

HOW IT SPREAD
Forwarded messages, quoted replies, FAQs, and repeated chat habits.
WHAT MATTERED
Typing less, marking tone, and keeping fast-moving conversations readable.
2

FORUMS · AIM · GAMES

Late 1990s–2000s

OP · PWNED · MEME · BUMP

Persistent usernames, threaded discussions, instant messaging, and multiplayer games gave communities recognizable dialects. Image macros and catchphrases made jokes easier to copy beyond their original forum.

KEY SHIFTCommunity vocabulary becomes repeatable media.

HOW IT SPREAD
Signatures, forum threads, chat logs, image boards, and multiplayer lobbies.
WHAT MATTERED
Reputation, recurring characters, and knowing the unwritten rules of a specific site.
3

TUMBLR · TWITTER · REDDIT

2010s

STAN · FOMO · DM · RECEIPTS

Feeds, hashtags, reposts, and visible popularity metrics accelerated circulation. Fandom, activism, celebrity culture, and reaction images pushed community language into a searchable public stream.

KEY SHIFTSlang travels through networks instead of single destinations.

HOW IT SPREAD
Reblogs, retweets, screenshots, hashtags, reaction GIFs, and viral posts.
WHAT MATTERED
Shareability, public performance, and joining a conversation already in motion.
4

TIKTOK · DISCORD · TWITCH

2020s

RIZZ · LORE · DELULU · SUS

Algorithmic recommendations move sounds and phrases between communities at enormous speed. Voice, captions, comments, games, and livestreams now influence one another in the same language cycle.

KEY SHIFTPronunciation, performance, and context become as important as spelling.

HOW IT SPREAD
Recommended clips, reusable audio, stitched videos, streams, and private servers.
WHAT MATTERED
Delivery, sound, visual context, and an algorithm’s ability to repeat a phrase at scale.

Platforms are meeting places, not sole inventors. Language usually arrives carrying history from somewhere else.

END OF CURRENT RECORD

THE INTERNET NEVER STOPS EDITING ITS DICTIONARY

Online language is constantly borrowed, shortened, exaggerated, misunderstood, revived, and given new meanings.

Come back in five years. Half of this page may mean something different.

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