Many of us enjoy chatting online. But have you ever been confused about terms or expressions found in online forums? Here, we will identify some of these words and discuss their meanings.

1. Chinese expressions:
论坛 —— forum / Internet bulletin board
帖子 —— post (n./v.)
潜水 —— lurk (v.)

Someone who lurks in a forum only reads the posts of others and never actually posts a message. Some people lurk in forums for days or years before getting involved. Others are lifetime lurkers, always reading and never posting.

签名档 —— sig (signature, n.)
A unique text phrase, link or graphic that appears below a member's post. Users often "sign" their names with interesting or humorous quotes and graphics.

头像 —— avatar (n.)
The small graphic or icon that represents an individual user. Forums usually give users the ability to select or upload an avatar graphic of their choice. This image identifies the member each time he or she posts.

沙发 —— first post
The first reply to an article or entry.

2. English abbreviations
To save time, users often include abbreviations (缩写) in their posts. Some of these are based on pronunciation; some are based on initials (首字母). Familiarize yourself with the following abbreviations so you won't look like a beginner the next time you visit an English forum.

sup? = What's up?
(怎么回事？发生什么事了？)
lol = laugh out loud (狂笑)
cya = see you (回见)
ic = I see (明白了)
gtg = got to go (我得走了)
gl = good luck (祝你好运)
FYI = for your information