2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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TLA
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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/TLA/ , n. [Three-Letter Acronym] 1. Self-describing abbreviation for a
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species with which computing terminology is infested. 2. Any confusing
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acronym. Examples include MCA, FTP, SNA, CPU, MMU, SCCS, DMU, FPU, NNTP,
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TLA. People who like this looser usage argue that not all TLAs have three
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letters, just as not all four-letter words have four letters. One also hears
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of ETLA (Extended Three-Letter Acronym, pronounced /ee tee el ay/ ) being
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used to describe four-letter acronyms; the terms SFLA (Stupid Four-Letter
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Acronym), LFLA (Longer Four Letter Acronym), and VLFLA (Very Long Five
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Letter Acronym) have also been reported. See also YABA. The self-effacing
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phrase TDM TLA (Too Damn Many...) is often used to bemoan the plethora of
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TLAs in use. In 1989, a random of the journalistic persuasion asked hacker
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Paul Boutin What do you think will be the biggest problem in computing in
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the 90s? Paul's straight-faced response: There are only 17,000 three-letter
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acronyms. (To be exact, there are 26^3 = 17,576. ) There is probably some
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karmic justice in the fact that Paul Boutin subsequently became a
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journalist.
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