My cats laugh. . . but usually silently. If they make a sound - it is to mock not laugh.

When I see LOL being used, it's (most of the time) implying that people are laughing at their own jokes, which would be quite obnoxious if it were a F2F conversation.

though shouldn't it more properly be LingOL?

I love that a buffista would debate even this. JZ, don't ever, ever change.

edited to get JZ's name right

See, I thought LOL implied the "-ing" as part of that initial L.

I have to say that I really really value (1) the clarity, simplicity and elegance of our board and (2) the fact that Buffistas care about grammar, spelling and punctuation.

There are a couple of different boards I am somewhat lurkerish at. (The MCRmy and Emilie Autumn forums are the ones that leap immediately to mind.) There's a reason I hardly post there. The constant lols! The rows of animated smileys in someone's post! The lack of any sort of content at all in most of the posts!

hyperventilates a bit

I was hoping it was mostly because a lot of the posters on those forums are, well, semi-socialized teens, but no. The other adults at those forums are just as bad.

It's even worse when the posting is "Thier ar Big Sores im my muoth lol."

Okay, THIS is an even better example of my lol-hate. WTF, man??? Why is that funny in any way, even if you're say, David Lynch?

When I see LOL being used, it's (most of the time) implying that people are laughing at their own jokes, which would be quite obnoxious if it were a F2F conversation.

Maybe excessive lol-ism is the textual equivalent of the people who have the unfortunate nervous habit of laughing after everything they say, no matter what it is. I know a LOT of people (mostly women, sadly) who do this. The laugh isn't because they consider themselves such wags, but because it's a nervous habit, or possibly ingrained self-denigration.

The laugh isn't because they consider themselves such wags, but because it's a nervous habit, or possibly ingrained self-denigration.

Yeah, this. It's not "I find this really funny", but "Don't yell at me!"

I have to admit, I still think good old-fashioned ASCII emoticons are kind of clever, but code that turns them into animated things wigs me out.

The rows of animated smileys in someone's post!

Animated smileys are so very deeply of the devil. Why does not everyone recognize this?

Why is that funny in any way, even if you're say, David Lynch?

I dunno, I could see Cronenberg finding it funny -- though, again, I couldn't see Cronenberg saying lol, typing lol, ore even allowing the letters l o l to pass through his brain in that order.

Yeah, this. It's not "I find this really funny", but "Don't yell at me!"

This is the person on the other side of the cube wall from me. I can predict, without fail, when that lol will sneak into the conversations she has.