Abbreviations

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

As a newcomer to the forum and, obviously not a very regular poster but fairly regular reader, one thing I find very noticeable in comparison with the other forums I am, or have been, a member of is the frequency I see abbreviations being used.

Now while I understand that, to many of the membership here the abbreviations being used might be second nature and possibly even not realised that it is being used, to many reading the thread they simply do not understand the abbreviation.

Being a Marine Chief Engineer I can use abbreviations with the best of them but, also spending a lot of time in the training side of the industry, I was taught not to use abbreviations as it has the effect of alienating and belittling the student.  If abbreviations have to be used, which to be honest I would question when I see a huge paragraph of text with a couple of unknown abbreviations thrown into the middle so expediency certainly isn’t the driving factor, by either using the full text with the abbreviation in brackets the first time it is used or, even better, write the expression out fully wherever possible.

I offer the comment only as a suggestion as I am sure that the membership here would rather they were seen as an inclusive and friendly body, willing to do anything necessary to help anyone who might have a question for them as we all strive to attract new interest into the hobby for as long as we are able.

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

Well, I dont know about the first part of your post, but I can vouch for the last part alright !!

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Richard,

Any specific abbreviations?

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Guilty as charged ! NO = Normally Open, NC = Normally Closed, NVR = No Volt Release.

I hope we are seen as friendly and helpful, I do my best . Noel.

[Andy StopfordParticipant @andystopford50521]

Perhaps an abbreviations glossary could be set up – ideally you’d want a single list which could be added to, and which would stay in alphabetical order. I have no idea how feasible such a thing would be within the forum mechanism though.

[Richard Simpson]

On 15 October 2025 at 09:26 Richard Simpson Said:

…willing to do anything necessary to help anyone who might have a question for them…

Does that include explaining an abbreviation to someone who doesn’t understand it and had the wit to ask?

Julie

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

What I find more annoying, not this site but in general, is the reuse of common abbreviations and the re-use of existing words for a completely different meaning.

Bob (sorry, Robert).

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Rather than a list, just spell it out (with abbreviation in brackets) first time you use it in a post / thread.

Robert.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

An almost impossible challenge in the context of this forum, but ..

Good practice in contractual documents is to always use a term in full at first use, followed by its abbreviation enclosed in square brackets.

 

A system which falls-down at once if the author is unaware of the terminology!

… or if the author presumes that “everyone” knows what is meant.

MichaelG.

.

Edit: — Crossed with Robert’ s more concise post.

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

I can use abbreviations with the best of them but tend to use the full spelling as I am aware there are a lot of people on here who aren’t so familiar with certain terms.

My personal opinion is that certain people use abbreviations to make themselves feel important, I have Googled abbreviations in the past but it’s certainly an annoyance.

Tony

[Tony Pratt 1]

On Tony Pratt 1 Said:

I can use abbreviations with the best of them but tend to use the full spelling as I am aware there are a lot of people on here who aren’t so familiar with certain terms.

My personal opinion is that certain people use abbreviations to make themselves feel important, I have Googled abbreviations in the past but it’s certainly an annoyance.

Tony

That can also be an aspect of it and there is no doubt that it does happen whereby some prefer to use abbreviations and technical terminology either as a means of bolstering their own levels of self importance or because they simply do not understand how they are coming across. I hasten to add I am not referring to this forum with that comment.  I have sailed with many engineers in the past who have been extremely knowledgeable in their own fields but totally incapable of communicating with anyone not at the same level as them.  They would frequently get offended if I criticised their communication skills as they had fallen into the trap of considering themselves beyond criticism.  What I did find particularly interesting when I did quite a bit of training myself to become a trainer, was just how various types of presenting information can be received by varying levels of understanding.  At one point many years ago I had to run Basic Sea Survival courses for new crew joining a ship.  They had just travelled half way round the world, for many it may be their first time away from home, they were in a foreign country, talking a second language, jet lagged, confused and some clown at the front of the class was telling them how to get into a life raft in the middle of the Atlantic.  If you could engage that lot and keep their interest for the entire hour you were doing well.  The trick with them was to continually draw on the flip chart as I was talking.  The sketches were designed to be obscure until the end thereby holding their attention.

I note above a frequent suggestion is to write the terminology out in full with the commonly used abbreviation in brackets after the first use and then just the abbreviation subsequently.  This is the commonly accepted normal practise in most technical writings.  I must admit I’m not sure why.  Is it really an imposition to write something out fully?  Does it take too much effort?  As I mentioned we do sometimes see large paragraphs of text, not really saying a great deal, with abbreviations in the middle of it.

Anyway, as regards Bosun’s question, that is entirely up to us all to decide for ourselves.  Most would probably say that the use of standard units should be acceptable by all, but then there will still always be those who don’t know the difference between AC and DC!  Maybe, as a technical forum we should have a right to expect that most basic level of knowledge from someone asking a question, that is up to the writer to decide.

And to Julie Anne, absolutely, there is no point in spelling out the words if we can think that it may still be difficult to understand for someone with less experience.  There is probably little point in referring to a single pole dual throw (SPDT) switch if we think there may be a good chance that some readers might not even know what a pole or a throw is.  Just an example please don’t jump on it!

Interesting points, many thanks for the thoughts.

[JAParticipant @ja]

No one has mentioned acronyms yet. They fall into the same category as abbreviation: To keep those in the know inside the “loop”, those not outside.

At work, a very large engineering firm, acronyms and abbreviations were both universal and department specific. They were hated but used. Eventually the company, as Andy suggests, made and published a glossary. Instantly it was a failure. It could not keep up with the invention of new acronyms and abbreviations.

JA

Edit – written before Richard’s reply.

[Andy Stopford]

On Andy Stopford Said:

Perhaps an abbreviations glossary could be set up

Should it be put in the FAQs😉😉

Some of us use abbreviations as our spelling and typing is not that good. But I’m always happy to explain what one means if asked.

[parovozParticipant @parovoz]

Oooooh I feel a pedancy attack coming on……  🙂  Surely we are talking about acronyms as opposed to abbreviations.

 

TLA – an acronym –  is only one specific form of an abbreviation using initial letters

Cresc’ – an abbreviation

 

Or am I talking Merde ? 🙂

 

Anyway I LOVE TLA’s and FLA’s

 

Normally the first time a FLA ( Four Letter Acronym ) is used, the full text ‘should’ appear bracketed following the TLA ( Three Letter Acronym ). We can then use the appropriate TLA or FLA anywhere in that text without repeating the full definition of the said TLA. That is the protocol AFAIK ( As Far As I Know ). 🙂

 

Usually Simples……

 

 

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

This feels relevant (Good Morning Vietnam):

 

[Roy BirchParticipant @roybirch29994]

Do abbreviations matter as long as they are understood by the reader? Julie Ann, I see you have posted  here but do I know you or have we met? you look familiar. You made a comment about the club at Cambridge of which I am Chairman but no one can remember you as having visited, then some of the photo’s you have posted look like the workshop and tooling of member or former member Andrew Johnson.

Sorry I hope that I have not hijacked this post in any way, I was only responding to this post but took the opportunity to ask the question of Julie Ann as she had replied, if so I will try and remove the non related content and post it elsewhere.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

but then there will still always be those who don’t know the difference between AC and DC!

Easy! Two halves of an Australian Rock Group….

Seriously, yes it is difficult to strike the right level if you have an ‘audience’ with a wide knowledge gradient. But many abbreviations will often come up with a quick Google such as SPDT. A common problem with Forums and the like is that people come on them not having made even a basic attempt to research their problem before expecting to be spoon fed an answer which they will happily take away without the faintest understanding of why it is the answer. They have learned nothing. I am always more disposed to assist someone who has at least made a bit of an effort to resolve their issue before asking for help. A couple of days ago there was someone on one of the Model Boat forums saying he had supposedly wired up his boat according to a manufacturer’s diagram but that every time he switched on his fuse immediately blew. He wanted someone to tell him why. It was gently suggested that he probably had a short and needed to do some continuity testing. Whether he understood that I don’t know.

Colin

 

 

[JAParticipant @ja]

One has to assume that when something is spelt out in full, such as “one dimensional, non-viscous, incompressible flow”, it will be understood by the knowledgeable reader. However as soon as one starts to used abbreviations/acronyms, such as “CFD”, the understanding is limited and private even when initially defined. Technical reports, like forum postings, are skimmed through with only the conclusions and recommendations being read.

I note that Richard is a chief engineer. We would use acronyms to control and keep such persons at bay.

JA

 

[Roy Birch]

On Roy Birch Said:

Do abbreviations matter as long as they are understood by the reader?

How do we know they are?  If not, some may have the courage to ask, some may try to find out for themselves and some will give up and not ask anything again.

 

[parovoz]

On parovoz Said:

Oooooh I feel a pedancy attack coming on……  🙂  Surely we are talking about acronyms as opposed to abbreviations.

 

TLA – an acronym –  is only one specific form of an abbreviation using initial letters

Cresc’ – an abbreviation

 

Or am I talking Merde ? 🙂

 

Anyway I LOVE TLA’s and FLA’s

 

Normally the first time a FLA ( Four Letter Acronym ) is used, the full text ‘should’ appear bracketed following the TLA ( Three Letter Acronym ). We can then use the appropriate TLA or FLA anywhere in that text without repeating the full definition of the said TLA. That is the protocol AFAIK ( As Far As I Know ). 🙂

 

Usually Simples……

 

 

 

An acronym is a specific type of abbreviation.  Consequently the term abbreviation includes all abbreviations and acronyms.  So we are not talking about acronyms as opposed to abbreviations, acronyms are abbreviations. Acronyms are usually associated where the initial one or two letters form another easy to repeat and therefore remember word, such as NASA, SONAR, SCUBA or RADAR.

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

At one time I worked for a technical publications firm, and our standard usage was to write out in full at first use, followed by the initials in parentheses (not square brackets). That is, unless we were working to a customer’s specification, in which we followed that.

One big customer (which shall remain nameless – and we had rules on will and shall) required a list of abbreviations to be included as an appendix to each document. Unfortunately two of their departments had a say on one document I wrote, and couldn’t agree on some definitions – I remember that CMOS* was one, and there were others – so the draft kept coming back to me with one definition crossed out and the other substituted. I ended up putting both in, and labelling them as alternatives.

*If memory serves the argument was between Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor and Complementary Metal-oxide On Silicon. Or Complementary Metal Oxide on Silicon. It was all very silly because the technicians I was writing for would have called it “C-MOS” like everybody else.

George

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

George’s post reminds me of the reputed occurrence on Wikipedia in which a famous person kept correcting the errors in his biography only to have some TWAT of a fan change it back to what they thought the details were, even when the person explained why they knew better. Sorry I haven’t expanded TWAT because when used as an insult everyone knows what you mean without knowing what the acronym stands for. Same for CMOS. Nobody has cared what it stands for since the day after it was invented.

Anyway I seem to be a Human 0.5 not Human 2.0 as my way of engaging in the forum is by reading it on a computer not by telepathy. Because I am using a computer instead of whinging that I didn’t understand ‘CFD’ used above I just Googled it. Just Google it , GOOGLE IT, ‘effing use Google!

What is much more annoying to me is the people who post questions without having made the slightest effort to research the topic or measure something properly or maybe describe the problem with barely 50% of the relevant information.

I do not have shares in Google. Other search engines are available. 🙂

[Bazyle]

On Bazyle Said:

Sorry I haven’t expanded TWAT because when used as an insult everyone knows what you mean without knowing what the acronym stands for.

 

Wasn’t that what you got when you asked for a cup of tea during a Trans World Airline flight?

[parovoz]

On parovoz Said:

Oooooh I feel a pedancy attack coming on……

[…]

Please try harder …The square ones are brackets and the curved ones are parentheses.

MichaelG.

[DodParticipant @dod]

I belong to the literal classification of 1 d ten T, commonly found among computer users.

TLA, slang, abbreviation or what ?

[Author]

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