I've become less of a pinball noobie, but one of the most confusing things for my first two years was trying to identify the abbreviated nomenclature for a machine in a thread. Always wondered how most of you feel about BKSOR, or TBL, being abbreviated.
IMO, this should be a fun poll:
Quoted from FamDocKevin:I've become less of a pinball noobie
This post in itself shows how much of a noob you are. When your on this forum for a few years you not only instantly know TAF but in chat with friends you also call it TAF.
The abbreviators got screwed with WW. Had to reabbreviate an abbreviation for White Water. And then they just decided not to abbreviate anymore with Willy Wonka.
Quoted from Flipper_McGavin:The abbreviators got screwed with WW. Had to reabbreviate an abbreviation for White Water.
Of course, Whirlwind came first. 
This is from Steve Martin’s Let’s Get Small Album:
“Okay, I don’t like to gear my material to the audience, but I’d like to make an exception because I was told that there is a convention of plumbers in San Francisco this week – and I understand about 30 of them came down to the show tonight – so before I came out I worked-up a joke especially for the plumbers. Those of you who aren’t plumbers probably won’t get this and won’t think it’s funny, but I think those of you who are plumbers will really enjoy this, and uh…. So if you’re not a plumber, please, bear with me for a while and just kinda, you know, hold off on this, but I would like to do this for the plumbers. Here we go.
“This lawn supervisor was out on a sprinkler maintenance job and he started working on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7″ gangly wrench. Well, just then, this little apprentice leaned over and said, “You can’t work on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7″ wrench.” Well this infuriated the supervisor, so he went and got Volume 14 of the Kinsley manual, and he reads to him and says, “The Langstrom 7″ wrench can be used with the Findlay sprocket.” Just then, the little apprentice leaned over and said, “It says sprocket not socket!”
You have to learn the language. Whatever you're interested in. I had Steve Young from Pinball Resource on the phone. I was a noob. I was a split second from asking him what the “switches” were on a Gottlieb The Amazing Spiderman. To this day I’m glad the conversation turned just before I asked.
Quoted from 6S3NC3:This post in itself shows how much of a noob you are. When your on this forum for a few years you not only instantly know TAF but in chat with friends you also call it TAF.
How many years do you need until your/you're is used properly?
Quoted from Flipper_McGavin:The abbreviators got screwed with WW. Had to reabbreviate an abbreviation for White Water. And then they just decided not to abbreviate anymore with Willy Wonka.
WH20 seems like the obvious abbreviation for Whitewater.
I'm going to give you a simple solution to your problem. Naturally, it will include an abbreviation.
1. Go to IPDB (google it, if needed)
2. Click on advanced search
3. Enter initials in Abbreviation field
4. Click on Search Database button
5. Problem solved
Quoted from schudel5:IMO? What game is that?
https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=2995
Quoted from PinballManiac40:WH20 seems like the obvious abbreviation for Whitewater.
WH20 or WH2O. Doesn't seem like a big difference; but when I started programming Fortran back in the early 80s, this caused me 2 days of repeated compiling errors.
Quoted from chuckwurt:On pinside every acronym will link to the game that it is.
LOL!! Not in the case of SS...it goes to Scared Stiff...
Phoebe
Quoted from chuckwurt:On pinside every acronym will link to the game that it is.
For some reason on mobile (iOS Safari) every game abbreviation links to the default search page. I know in desktop when I hover over the abbreviations they show the game
It's real simple, but I don't like it when people use old abbreviations for new games. The IM / IMDN example above it one of them. Also JP / STRNJP. Pinside tells you the machine when you hovered over the proper abbrviation.
Edit: some point taken with Jurrasic Park. Thought it was STNJP or STRNJP, but not coming up. This can help.
https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2019/08/07/pinball-acronyms/
Quoted from RyanStl:It's real simple, but I don't like it when people use old abbreviations for new games. The IM / IMDN example above it one of them. Also JP / STRNJP. Pinside tells you the machine when you hovered over the proper abbrviation.
STRNJP? That one sucks.
I will call it JP. The better version should get the simpler abbreviation. The old one can be OGJP.
Quoted from Flipper_McGavin:The abbreviators got screwed with WW. Had to reabbreviate an abbreviation for White Water. And then they just decided not to abbreviate anymore with Willy Wonka.
Quoted from PinballManiac40:JP2 though is JP: the Lost World. That is why JP3 came about.
I get that but lost world was never called jp, cuz it's not jp the other 2 are based on the exact first movie so it makes perfect sense to be jp2. That game is based on a completely different film in the jurassic park franchise. I dont care if anyone calls Elwins game jp2 or jp3 i get it its the 3rd game created in that universe. Hell i think my cliffy set called it jp3 and i kinda snickered. Alternatively nobody calls Segas lost world pin jp2 but there is another lost world pin too confuse that one with..lol!
For the OP... the term is "Acronym".
Quoted from Butterflygirl24:SS= Space Shuttle...but to others it means Scared Stiff...
Phoebe
Well, yeah... but what about "Split Second"? S2nd perhaps?
But, sometimes they just don't make sense to me and they can get really confusing...
Whenever that game comes up in conversation round these parts, it's just "Maiden". So, I just type it that way. IM is still Iron Man although it could be the classic Stern Iron Maiden...same letters, different game. But it's so rare, it would hardly ever be used. (Modern enthusiasts would never use Madien these days to describe the classic Stern game because everyone would think you mean the new Stern title.)
Similar is Willy Wonka... people just say "Wonka". Or POTC... the "newest one" is "Pirates" or JJPOTC.
The most important acronym for newbies to learn is SDTM because they will probably experience it a LOT.
Then there is the entire LE, PREM addition at the end. Like ELE for an Elvis "gold". Or would it be EGOLD. ? Who knows... I'm fairly certain RSLE is Rolling Stones LE.
Quoted from MacGruber:Pretty sure if it has jp in the title at all it's listed after the lost world
Either case, Jurassic Park is in the name.
When you actually communicate with people face-to-face (remember that?) you wouldn't say 'TAF', you'd say 'Addams Family'. But it's a fun game we play here on Pinside... or should I say PS.
I work in a Government job and everything is abbreviate. Sometimes I have a little chuckle as some of the official Government abbreviations match my favorite pinball games.
Best pinball abbreviation is TNA, which has always been 'Tits and Ass' everywhere else.
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/wtf-do-i-need-to-spell-it-out-for-youlol?hl=pinpickle and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.
Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.
Schnecksville, PA
Surrey, BC
