Here are some of the abbreviations that crop up in Honyaku posts:

• TIA: thanks in advance
• HTH: hope this helps
• FWIW: for what it's worth
• IADOTC: it all depends on the context
• KKism: company-specific term
• GG: Green Goddess, the nickname for "Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary"
• OED: Oxford English Dictionary
• EB: Encyclopedia Britannica or Electronic Book
• the Lacker: "Dictionary of Computer" published by Nichigai Associates (so named because it lacks the 's' at the end of "Computer")

Some abbreviations common in e-mail in general:

• IMO: in my opinion
• IMHO: in my humble opinion
• BTW: by the way
• <g>: grin
• IANAL: I am not a lawyer
• :) this is an "emoticon" representing a smiling face
• :( ... a frowning face
• ;) ... a smirk. There are a lot of emoticons.