LOL

I see a lot of lolling going around, but I wonder how many times people are actually "laughing out loud"  lol.  I used to get excited by lol, but now I realize it's so overused lol.  Some people end just about every sentence with a lol just to let you know they're just kidding  lol.  Or maybe it's to let you know that they're trying to be funny, but usually not succeeding lol. 

I wanted to find out more about the use of lol, so I did a handy-dandy google search and came up with this Wiki entry.  Woa! That's a lot of stuff about lol, lol!  I specifically was curious about Internet slang that indicates a person is laughing.  Since my favorite genre of writing is humor, and I always write on the internet, it's important for me to do a little research into when people really LOL or when they just give you a little courtesy lol. lol.

There's ROTFL - Rolling on the Floor Laughing - This is probably even more unlikely to be literal.  I do not think I have ever seen a person actually rolling on the floor laughing unless possibly when very drunk.  My only thought is that people use this as a step up from LOL/lol which is entirely too common to be taken seriously. 

ROFL - This is the same as above, but without the 'T'. The person who came up with this was probably too drunk from all that laughing on the floor to remember about the 'T'.  Or Perhaps English was not his primary languange and he was simply Rolling On Floor Laughing.

LMAO - Laughing My Ass Off.  Again, very unlikely to be literal.  I have never seen someone laugh their ass off, even when drunk.

ROTFLMAO - A combination of the above.  Rolling on the Floor Laughing My Ass Off.  The person that writes this is most likely a liar and a drunk, but they still are trying to give you a compliment, so don't hold it against them.

In summation, I do not think humor writers can really trust any feedback that involves LOL or any of its derivatives.  I suggest we come up with some new "initialisms" to give writers some actual feedback.  Here are some ideas:

TWS - That Was Stupid

CS - Courtesy Smile

RME - Rolling My Eyes

ROTFRMEO - Rolling On The Floor Rolling My Eyes Off - This means your writing was so stupid that it sent the reader into uncontrollable spasms of eye-rolling on the floor

ROFBMGO - Rolling on Floor Barfing My Guts Out - This would indicate the reader absolutely hated what you wrote.  Note the dropped 'The'.  He is not worrying about grammar. If he is drunk, this might very well be literal, but it is unlikely that the vomiting was caused by your writing so do not take it personally.

lol