October 14, 2011

The Chat Laugh Hierarchy

Chatting over the internet is a mainstream form of communication now.
While I miss phone calls and face-to-face visits, I've accepted reality I've embraced chatting.
Note: A video chat is preferred, but sometimes that's not possible (dang you, work).

Now I just have one question:
Does anyone know the hierarchy of the various chat laughs?

I mean, some are pretty clear. We can figure that
  • ha < haha < hahaha (multiplication rule)
  • lol < LOL (bigger-is-better rule)
  • haha < bwahaha (exclamatory addition rule)
  • and LMAO < ROFLMAO (loss of body control rule).
Those are obvious.

Others aren't so easy to determine. For example, I figure that
  • haha < harhar
    • Why? Because "harhar" first reminds me of an old man or a pirate laughing in his armchair. Hmm, but I suppose it could just be someone with asthma, and thus wouldn't be as hearty a laugh as "haha". I'm torn on this one, but I think I'll go with my first instinct.
Cap'n Happy agrees that haha < harhar
  • haha < lol
    • Why? Because I figure that "haha" has been around for a long time, and "lol" just popped into existence with the dawning of internet chat. So it stands to reason that newer would be better/bigger than older, right? Saying that haha < lol raises other issues, like what happens when other rules (such the multiplication or bigger-is-better rules mentioned above) are included?
      • Would hahaha still be < lol?
      • Is lol < bwahaha?
Nelson might dispute my haha < lol ranking
So what do you think? Are there any others I should be aware of for regular chat laughing, and that need to be included in this hierarchy of chat laughs?

4 comments:

  1. I don't think "ha ha" is less than lol/LOL. Because for me, I refuse to use the term lol. I don't know why, I just hate it. So if I want to communicate that I find something funny via internet chat, I simply type out "ha ha" or "hee hee". I would think of "har har" as being somewhat sarcastic. Or a pirate. :)

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  2. Your aversion to "lol" is interesting, and I'd love to figure out why. Good call on "har har" being sarcasm; I can definitely see that.

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  3. Well, maybe it's a Peacock thing. I hate using LOL as well. Although LQTM (laughing quietly to myself) should start trending cause I'd consider using that...

    I use muahahaha (evil laugh) and hehe on internet chat quite frequently.

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  4. I am morally opposed to "lol" or any variation thereof. I am definitely a proponent of the clever usage of ha in it's variant forms. For example; ha, haha (you already clarified their usage), HAhahahahahaha...(something actually produces a burst of laughter followed by the regular "ha"s), PAH hahaha (similar to the previous one, but preceded by more of a plosive. Note: If you are eating or drinking when this occurs, it may cause you to spray food/drink all over your computer screen.) , Tee hee (mildly mischievous or flirtatious), Bwa-ha (usually in response to a bad pun or joke), mwahahahaha (My dastardly laugh as I plot your demise and twirl my imaginary mustache).

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