Did the FBI Compile an 83-Web page Guidebook to World wide web Slang?

Fact Check out

Even the FBI demands assist with world-wide-web lingo, as evidenced by an 83-page internal document they launched in 2014 thanks to a Freedom of Facts Act (FOIA) ask for. The doc reentered the internet’s consciousness by way of recent reporting on it from Input and The Verge.

The document, out there on archive.org, has a very long checklist of phrases one particular would commonly come upon on the world-wide-web and in text messages, ranging from LMAO (laughing my ass off) to IITYWTMWYKM (if I explain to you what this suggests will you kiss me). 

The document involves a “Twitter Shorthand” segment that has 2,800 entries and states: 

With the introduction of Twitter and other social media venues on the Net, the use of shorthand and acronyms has exploded. The DFs Intelligence Investigate Assistance Unit (IRSU) has set jointly an extensive – but significantly from exhaustive – list of shorthand and acronyms utilised in Twitter and other social media venues this kind of as immediate messages, Facebook and MySpace,

This checklist has about 2,800 entries you ought to uncover practical in your operate or for holding up with your youngsters and/or grandchildren. We’ll continue on to update/extend this record. If you have some strategies for additions, feel cost-free to include a new entry by clicking on the “New” tab underneath.

Some other slang phrases that stand out are NIFOC (naked in front of computer), WOS (waste of space/wife above shoulder), and H9 (genuinely dislike – H8+1). 

The FOIA ask for was filed by way of MuckRock, an group that allows the community receive details from the federal government. The Verge noted on this again in 2014 when MuckRock unveiled all of its communications with the FBI.

This is a request under the Freedom of Information and facts Act. I hereby request the adhering to data:

A copy of all information or documentation out there to FBI brokers or other FBI staff or contractors which presents details on how to interpret or have an understanding of so-termed “leetspeak.” Leetspeak (or leet or 1337, and so forth.) is a obfuscated type of interaction exactly where letters are changed with figures or symbols or abnormal spellings or abbreviations are applied, or a combination of these aspects. This interaction is well known among the hackers and may perhaps be accessible to pc crimes investigators or utilised in training them to assistance them browse or realize conversation concerning laptop hackers.

Be sure to consist of all forms of these documents, such as but not restricted to memos, manuals, PowerPoint displays, coaching resources, e-mail, and many others.

The full document is listed here for your perusal.

Sources:

Federal Bureau of Investigation. “FBI Guidebook to Online Slang.” World wide web Archive, http://archive.org/facts/FBIGuideToInternetSlang. Accessed 21 Apr. 2022.

Khaw, Cassandra. “The FBI Is Hip to Your World-wide-web Slang.” The Verge, 18 June 2014, https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/18/5819892/fbi-world wide web-slang-list. Accessed 21 Apr. 2022.

“Leet Talk (FBI).” MuckRock, https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-the united states-10/leet-talk-fbi-10154/. Accessed 21 Apr. 2022.

Rauwerda, Annie. “The FBI’s 83-Web page Guideline to Online Slang Is an Absolute Rollercoaster.” Enter, https://www.inputmag.com/lifestyle/fbi-tutorial-to-internet-slang. Accessed 21 Apr. 2022.

Roth, Emma. “Today I Discovered That the FBI Has an 83-Website page Guidebook to Online Speak.” The Verge, 18 Apr. 2022, https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/18/23030750/fbi-83-page-guide-web-speak. Accessed 21 Apr. 2022.