Acronyms are more than just language specific. I live in England and many of my non-IT friends wouldn't know what AFK means. My mum wouldn't even know what WTF means. And I knew the former two (though it took me a second to remember AFK because it's not one I use personally) but hadn't heard of MSP before.
Sometimes it's not even just a case people not coming across acronyms before but rather those acronyms could be short for terms that aren't even used in other English-speaking countries (never mind non-English speaking). The DMV is a great example because in the UK they're called the DVLA.
It gets worse still because even people working in different industries in the same country might have come across different meanings for the same acronyms. For example I once worked with an ex-military officer who would get confused every time we'd talk about ISO (in terms of burning a Debian CD image) because he'd been used to the term used in a different context (I forget exactly what it meant to him but I think it was something to do with temporary buildings -- maybe someone else on here might know?)
So it should never be taken for granted that a "common" acronym is universally understood.
> And how can you and the parent comment bang on about it in this context and not think to spell it out?
>
> Pretty amusing!
The conversation wasn't about any context in relation to AFK (away from keyboard) but rather about the trouble with using acronyms. Not knowing what that acronym means doesn't alter the readability of the comment (in fact ironically it actually helps hammer home the point I was making).
This is also why I didn't spell out DVLA (UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) despite introducing a new acronym to the conversation; and why I did explain which "ISO" I was referring to because the context there did matter to explain my point.
Sometimes it's not even just a case people not coming across acronyms before but rather those acronyms could be short for terms that aren't even used in other English-speaking countries (never mind non-English speaking). The DMV is a great example because in the UK they're called the DVLA.
It gets worse still because even people working in different industries in the same country might have come across different meanings for the same acronyms. For example I once worked with an ex-military officer who would get confused every time we'd talk about ISO (in terms of burning a Debian CD image) because he'd been used to the term used in a different context (I forget exactly what it meant to him but I think it was something to do with temporary buildings -- maybe someone else on here might know?)
So it should never be taken for granted that a "common" acronym is universally understood.