Editing LOL (section)

{{Short description|Internet slang}}
{{About|the internet slang initialism}}
{{Redirect|Laugh out loud|the radio show|Laugh Out Loud (radio){{!}}''Laugh Out Loud'' (radio)|the TV series|Laugh Out Loud (TV series){{!}}''Laugh Out Loud'' (TV series)}}
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{{Update|date=March 2021|reason=Sources are all from the 2000s so this article does not document modern usage and includes information that is no longer relevant}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
[[File:Lol message in convo.jpg|thumb|Use of "lol" in a conversation]]
'''LOL''', or '''lol''', is an [[initialism]] for '''laughing out loud''',<ref name="Haig2001" /><ref name="Franzini2002" /><ref name="Egan2004" /><ref name="Meltzer2011" /> and a popular element of [[Internet slang]], which can be used to indicate amusement, irony, or double meanings.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=McCulloch |first=Gretchen |url=https://archive.org/details/because-internet/ |title=Because Internet |date=July 23, 2019 |publisher=Riverhead Books |isbn=9780735210936 |language=en}}</ref> It was first used almost exclusively on [[Usenet]], but has since become widespread in other forms of [[computer-mediated communication]] and even [[Face-to-face interaction|face-to-face]] communication. It is one of many [[initialism]]s for expressing bodily reactions, in particular [[laughter]], as text, including initialisms for more emphatic expressions of laughter such as '''LMAO'''<ref name=NetlingoLMAO/> ("laughing my ass off") and '''ROFL'''<ref name=Goudelocke2004/><ref name=Hershock2003/><ref name=Shortis2001/> or '''ROTFL'''<ref name=RaymondSteele1996/><ref name=WilliamsCummiungs1993/> ("rolling on the floor laughing").

In 2003, the list of [[acronym]]s was said to "grow by the month",<ref name=Hershock2003/> and they were collected along with [[emoticon]]s and [[smiley]]s into [[folklore|folk]] dictionaries that are circulated informally amongst users of Usenet, [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]], and other forms of (textual) computer-mediated communication.<ref name=Jones1998/> These initialisms are controversial, and several authors<ref name=LacettiStevens2003/><ref name=SIT2003/><ref name=FondillerNerone2007/><ref name=YunkerBarry2006/> recommend against their use, either in general or in specific contexts such as business communications. The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' first listed LOL in March 2011.<ref name="omglol">{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-25/living/oxford.new.words_1_new-words-oxford-english-dictionary-usage?_s=PM:LIVING|title=OMG! Oxford English Dictionary adds new words|author=Anna Stewart|date=March 25, 2011|publisher=CNN|access-date=March 28, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401061539/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-25/living/oxford.new.words_1_new-words-oxford-english-dictionary-usage?_s=PM:LIVING|archive-date=April 1, 2011}}</ref>