American Email Usage  
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Pronouncing email terms:    
     
. Dot @ At  
_ Underscore - Hyphen
     
xx_kk@zzqq-99.com       is pronounced: "X X underscore K K at Z Z Q Q hyphen nine nine dot com"
       
Email abbreviations (see notes at bottom for additional information):
     
2 to IT information technology
24/7 available 24 hours a day 7 days a week j/k just kidding (joking)
4 for k thousands
# number kb kilobytes (thousands of bytes)
$$ expensive, will cost many dollars LOI letter of intent
& and lol laugh out loud
: ( I am unhappy m am
: () I am surprised MB megabytes (millions of bytes)
: ) I am happy MBS millions of bits per second
:-( I am unhappy MIA missing in action (can't be located)
:-() I am surprised mil million or millions
:-) I am happy MM million or millions
;-) I am slyly smiling (winking an eye) msg message
? question or "I don't know" n no
@ at org organization or organize
+ plus or and p phone
< less than ph phone
> greater than Q&A questions & answers
asap as soon as possible QA quality assurance
attn attention QC quality control
b be r are
b2b business to business re regarding
b2c business to consumers retn return
b4 before RFI request for information
bbl be back later RFP request for proposal
biz business SOW statement of work
brb be right back TBA to be announced
BTW by the way TBD to be determined
c see tho though
cc copy (originally carbon copy) thru through
COB Close of business thx thanks
ETA Expected time of arrival til until
e email tks thanks
ez easy ttyl talk to you later
FAQs frequently asked questions ty thank you
ftp file transfer protocol u you
FYI for your information w/o without
GA go ahead wo without
GB Gigabytes (billions of bytes) y why or yes
HQ headquarters y/n yes or no
imp important
info information
 
NOTES:
 
1.  In business situations, it is best not to use abbreviations, or at least to minimize their use.
2.  The nature of email frequently raises the possibility that the tone of message will be
misunderstood. For example, you might intent to offer helpful suggestions and the
recipient might interpret your email as harsh criticisms. Review your email before you
send it. Also, if you end it with "Regards," "Thanks," "Best wishes" or similar words,
it helps the recipient to realize that it is a friendly message.
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