The FBI maintains a massive encyclopedia of internet slang
A glimpse into the internet terms and abbreviations of yesteryear
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In the same way that parents have a hard time keeping up with the latestinternet slang, so too does theFBIwhich is why the government agency put together its own guide on the latest terms and abbreviations.
As reported byInput, the FBI actually has its own 83-page guide on internet slang that you can read for yourself on theInternet Archive.
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It’s worth noting that the FBI’s massive encyclopedia of internet slang is a bit dated by today’s standards as it was obtained back in 2014 through aFreedom of Information Act(FOIA) request filed by the non-profit MuckRock whose aim is to make politics more transparent while holding the government accountable.
Abbreviations galore
The FBI’s internet slang guide was uploaded to the Internet Archive for posterity and contains 2,800 entries with the vast majority of them being abbreviations for Twitter shorthand. However, the guide also contains entries on common symbols found online such as using “<3” for heart.
Alongside familiar terms like “LOL” and “BRB”, the FBI’s internet slang guide also has some more unusual entries such as ALOTBSOL (always look on the bright side of life), BIOYIOP (blow it out your I/O port), DENT (don’t bother next time), GIWIS (gee, I wish I’d said that) and more.
As we mentioned before, you canread the guide yourselfon the Internet Archive but be warned, it is very low quality and you’ll need to zoom in quite a bit to read it.
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According to areportfromThe Vergereleased back in 2014 when the FBI’s internet slang guide first became publicly available, the glossary of terms was put together by the government agency’s Intelligence Research Support Unit and was described as useful for “keeping up” with children and grandchildren.
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Although we now know what the FBI was looking for online almost a decade ago, it would be quite interesting to take a look at the agency’s more recent internet slang guides which have likely ballooned in size now that more and more of our daily lives are spent online.
ViaInput
After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.
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