When is the appropriate time to use “LOL”? Does any audible laugh warrant it? I’m wondering because I keep seeing “LOL” being used almost like punctuation.
For example, “Hey! LOL! How are you?”
Does what you say even have to be funny anymore, or can you just LOL instead of pausing with a comma? LOL! 
I was thinking the same thing with the way people use the f-bomb. LOL.
…how about a new term sLOL. It’s like LOL, only silent 
sLOL
I will defer to Miss Ayerley and/or harper on this one.
Laughter does not always correlate with humor. Some people laugh when they are nervous. Others laugh when they are upset. Psychologists have linked inappropriate laughter to certain neurological disorders.
Needless to say, in these fora, I’m sure we see all of the above cases.
I’d venture to say those in the last category are the same whose fingers twitch when they see an array of colorful smiley faces, and end up including a rapid succession of them in every post (i.e. 
:o ).
By my own personal standard, an audible laugh of at least 40 decibels must precede any LOL, otherwise it’s just a WTF (Wow That’s Funny).
Maybe we have different definitions of wtf?
Yes.
I’ve heard it expressed as “Whew, that’s funny!” as well.
It must be a regional thing.
This is an AWESOME thread.
Try as you might, people know what WTF means it I don’t think you’ll be able to change it by positive example. Maybe imagine the F as fudge?
Thank you, Greg. One down.
Eh, LOL is a small grin at best.
I generally treat a LOL as LQTM (laughing quietly to myself). I never use lol, rather “haha” which doesn’t imply that I am audibly expressing humor:p
If you ever walk through a room with 800 cubicles, and 800 people at their computers who are supposed to be working, all you hear is people LOL.
You wonder how anyone gets any work done.
Any genuine laugh heard is LOL… Yes, even in the woods when you’re all along.
I prefer Ltmq…
(laughing to myself quietly)
Because if you add an exclimation point you look like an idiot, which is why lol would be better as a replacement for LTMQ! Also, if something isn’t really all that funny to deserve an “ltmq”, and you have already used “ltmq” in previous conversation, then “ltmemstb” is appropriate. It stands for " laughing to myself even more silently than before".
Much more complicated, but it sure is more appropriate for what people really are thinking.
I think beeper is well on his way to true self-expression.
That just made me rofwlqtmsemqtbwlmaoa.
LOL OMG WTF BBQ!!!11!!1!!1!!!11!!!one!11!!one!!1!1
That’s a good point, but I’ve never thought of nervousness as something to convey in writing, at least not in an obvious way. Do people really write “LOL” when they’re nervous? What’s there to be nervous about? Are the pressures of conforming to the rules of grammar and correct spelling so overwhelmingly stressful?
Another thing: do people really roll on the floor laughing? And do they then wet their pants? I’m not sure I’ve ever rolled on the floor during a laugh, and I know I’ve never wet my pants from laughing. Am I still allowed to pretend to ROTFL, in writing, if something is really, really funny, or maybe if I’m really, really nervous? Should I instead ROTFFL, i.e., Roll On The Figurative Floor Laughing? Can you ROTFL without LOL, or does the silent convulsing on the floor make people wonder what’s wrong with you, in writing?
It could well be unconscious… the writer feels laughter welling up and LOLs all over their post, not knowing the nature of the laugh.
It all boils down to some sort of insecurity. Did I use the right smiley? Is my post too trollish? What will people think of me?
LOL is three letters, to be used whenever the author wants. There is usually no way to prove whether any actual laughter occurred.
Same as most everything else we write in here, especially in JC.
LOL.