As in anything that we start living with day to day a lingo/shorthand develops. While your fellow participants on Awakenings try not to confuse newcomers, here are some symbols you may see on your screen:
HP is Higher Power (another term for the God of our understanding)
CAL is Conference Approved Literature
ODAT is One Day At A Time (A CAL daily reading book)
C2C is Courage to Change (Another CAL daily reader)
f2f is face to face - as in an Al-Anon meeting you go to in your home town.
ESH or ES&H is Experience, strength and hope - what we share.
BA is Before Al-Anon
OLA is On-line Al-Anon
SLIP is Short Lapse in Program or Serenity Lost Its Priority.
AFG is an Al-Anon Family Group
AFGH, Inc is the Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc
WSO is the World Service Office (Al-Anon's headquarters)
WSC is the World Service Conference (Delegates elected from Areas by Group Representatives from f2f groups)
MC = Meeting Contact (term designated by WSO as a liaison between on-line groups and the world-wide fellowship during the 3 year period that the WSC/WSO is studying how on-line meetings might fit/link into the world-wide fellowship.
<g> is a grin
<vbg> is a very big grin
:-) is a smile (look sideways)
0:-) is an angel, with a smile
;-) is a wink
:-( is a frown
{{{{{{{name}}}}}} is hugs to you!!!!
LOL is laughing out loud
LOLROF is laughing out loud, rolling on the floor
BTW is By The Way
IMO is In My Opinion
IMHO is In My Humble Opinion
(_____::_____) is a bandaid [for when all else fails and you are waiting for HP to heal]