Because of these reasons, the majority of Net-using linguists classify Netspeak as a dynamic jargon in and of itself, rather than as a collection of slang. Linguistically, the most interesting feature of Netspeak is its morphology. Acronyms and abbreviations make up a large part of Net jargon. FAQ (Frequently Asked Question), MUD (Multi-User-Dungeon), and URL (Uniform Resource Locator) are some of the most frequently seen TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) on the Internet. General abbreviations abound as well, in more friendly and conversationally conducive forms, such as TIA (Thanks In Advance), BRB (Be Right Back), BTW (By The Way), and IMHO (In My Humble Opinion.) These abbreviations can be baffling to new users, and speaking in abbreviations takes some getting used to. Once users are used to them, though, such abbreviations are a nice and easy way of expediting communication. Derivation is another method by which many words are formed. The word Internet itself is the word "net" with the prefix "inter-" added to it. Another interesting example is the word "hypertext," used to describe the format of one area of the Internet, the WWW (World Wide Web). The WWW is made up of millions of pages of text with "hotlinks" that allow the user to jump to another page with different information on it. "Hypertext," derived by adding the prefix "hyper-" to the word "text," produces the definition "a method of storing data through a computer program that allows a user to create and link fields of information at will and to retrieve the data nonsequentially," according to Webster's College Dictionary. Proper names also make a large impact on the vocabulary of Net users. Archie, Jughead, and Veronica are all different protocols for searching different areas of the Internet for specific information. Another new use of proper names is for descriptive purposes. For example, the proper-name turned descriptive noun/verb/adjective "Gabriel" has come to be understood as a stalling tactic, or a form of filibustering; "He's pulling a Gabriel," or "He's in Gabriel mode.
