You don't realize how much 'short hand' ( really-how many people even KNOW what THAT means???) we speak as we communicate thru the cloud. Many of the accepted and oft-repeated phrases get condensed and made faster to get your idea across quickly and (if possible) accurately. Abbreviations such as CR (centering rings) mean something completely different to somebody discussing metallurgy. Usually you can figure it out contextually, but I'm schooling a complete computer newbie and he has NO clue about our 'code' we use all the time in e-mails. BRB, IMO, YMMV, IIRC, are all hard to figure out because if you have no experience, it's as good as Greek. A perfect example (old timer story alert!) was on the Atlas program. An engineer popped her head into our cubicle with a priority job and rattled off some parameters and concerns. We had brought in another engineer to help with the work load and he was just getting familiar with all the systems and blueprints. As she finished her breathless recount of what needed to be done, he looked up at her and exclaimed: "You didn't use two words in English and none of us here are immigrants!" we all 'rotflmao' and decoded it for him. From then on his nickname was "Alien". The point is experience and time help, but if you don't know- never be afraid to ask.
