AFAIK: as far as I know

basher: A person who makes derogatory posts in order to drive a stock's price down, usually because he/she is selling the stock short.

BB: bulletin board (same as board)

BTW: by the way

CC: conference call, i.e. the phone conversation between a company and analysts following the release of that company’s quarterly earnings report.

CNP: continued in the next post

DD: due diligence, i.e. sufficient fundamental research in order to determine whether an investment is worth making.

DT: day trading (or day trader)

DYODD: do your own due diligence

FAQ: frequently asked questions

FWIW: for what it’s worth

FYI: for your information

hypster: A person who makes enthusiastic posts in order to drive a stock's price up, often because he/she is holding the stock.

GMTA: great minds think alike

HTH: hope this helps

IMHO: in my humble opinion

IMO: in my opinion

IOW: in other words

LMHO: laughing my head off

LOL: laughing out loud

lurker: A person who reads messages but doesn't contribute by posting.

MB: message board (same as board)

MOMO: A momentum stock.

noise: irrelevant or useless posts.

NRN: no response necessary

OT: Off-topic, i.e. pertaining to a subject other than that for which the current board is intended. Off-topic posts are usually frowned upon.

OTF: on the floor (laughing)

OTOH: on the other hand

P&D: Pump and dump, i.e. the unscrupulous attempt to hype a stock one is holding to get the price to rise, then selling as soon as it does.

PD: public domain, i.e. not protected by a copyright. Please note that nearly all published works are automatically copyright protected. For this reason, we recommend: (a) linking directly to online articles (by placing [url] before the link and [/url] after; (b) providing a short summary of an article, along with attribution. We do not recommend copying articles verbatim.

PM: Private message, i.e. a direct communication between two people, such as through email, rather than via the open communication of a message board.

scalping: The practice of buying a stock and then recommending it to others, in an attempt to raise the stock price. The legality of such a practice is ambiguous, since anyone who buys a stock is likely to be recommending it to others. If you want to be absolutely safe, mention in your post whether you currently hold a position (long or short) in that stock.

SITD: still in the dark

spam: A message having no value, such as a commercial soliciation (which is not permitted on Investorville).

THX: thanks

TIA: thanks in advance

tout: When used as a noun, a person who is paid by a company (usually a micro-cap) to post favorable messages about that company, in an attempt to raise the stock price. When used as a verb, the act of posting such messages. This is strictly forbidden in Investorville, and is illegal (per SEC regulations) unless the tout clearly indicates that the company is paying the tout for these “services”.

troll: A post intended to incite a verbal fight, or to damage a person’s or company’s reputation; or one who makes such posts. Such posts are not allowed on Investorville. If you see them, feel free to ignore them or report them to us.

weak hands: Nervous investors who follow the herd and sell stock at the first sign of weakness.