I am curious. When you're in a chat situation (or even posting on a forum or writing an e-mail), and you write "LOL", is it because you are *actually* laughing out loud? Or do you say it kindasorta for drama...for effect, or to amplify your reaction to something? I do my best to be honest with this sort of thing...but I confess that at times, I use the lower-case "lol" when really the laugh was mostly or entirely internal. LOL from me can mean anything from a single (but still out-loud) quiet aspiration ("heh") to bout of real laughter. Others?
For me it depends on the situation; it can be both. Usually when It's all caps I did actually laugh, while "lol" is just used to end a sentence or if I don't know what to say.
For me: Lol/lol is a light laugh. Usually to show I'm not being too serious, or that I would rather proceed with as little tension as possible. LOL is a loud burst or a few seconds of laughter. LOL~!/LOL~!!/LOL~!!! is a loud burst or more than a few seconds of laughter. I tend to stick with 1-3 exclamation marks, with 3 being the most amusing. If you get 3 !!!'s, you've struck my funny bone directly. I don't use "LMAO", "ROTFL" all that often. Usually when I do, it's to reference it, or to come off as satirical. But if I type/write it, I do laugh. Otherwise, it just seems kind of pointless to me, considering what it stands for.
It usually conveys that I'm smiling. I try to refrain from abusing it. I tend to be easily amused. Sometimes I resist laughing because people might ask questions and I'll have to admit I laughed at something like this: I use "XD" by default, but, I think "LOL" is more likely to be understood. It can depend on who I'm talking to.
Yes I do actually laugh. Even when it's a silent or quiet giggle rather then properly out loud. But I nearly always stick to writing Lol or lol. On rare occasions I have used a LOL when something is really funny, but I tend to avoid capitalizing it ever since I saw some things typed out by a friend's teenage daughter where every single sentence was filled with: LOL! OMG! ROTFL!! LOL!! LMFAO!!! OMFG!!!! LOL!!!! AKGHDMVJKLGZIBV\SKGLUJRIO;NNB;IOVJO08=--=$!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...and so on, you get my point. Seeing that too often makes things difficult to read if you're not careful, so I make sure to mix it up a bit. Sometimes I'll use Lol, lol, LOL, but I'll also use 'ha ha', 'tee he he' (usually to indicate cheeky laughter), or smilies.
I don't "LOL" I "HAHA" but in real life it's sort of a "hahaha" but typing that is just so awkward haha so yea…:lol:
I use it when I laugh out loud and when I merely find what they said amusing. Saying that was funny or haha just feels off to me.
I use "lol" "haha" and "LOL" Lol is when I smile or think it is funny, and I want to express that, but I'm not actually laughing. Haha is to express greater humor. I may be laughing or giggling. LOL is when I definitely am laughing out loud. But probably only a little. When I am sitting alone at my computer, I rarely laugh out loud. But I know what I would laugh out loud at if we were talking face to face. My text lols reflect that. And yeah, I lol a lot.
Yes!! It's exactly this, isn't it? This is what I do...I just hadn't ever put it together in those words. Thank you!
I do occasionally literally laugh out loud when I "LOL." When that happens I usually tell the other person that "I just literally lol'd."
Almost always. I laugh easy, and often... and it doesn't take much. (easily amused ) If I'm NOT laughing, that probably means it's something awkward and I'm using an "lol" to break tension.
When I actually laugh out loud at something, I usually write "I literally LOL." Otherwise, I use it figuratively most of the time.
David Cameron thought lol meant lots of love, so when he was apparently laughing out loud he was actually loving someone lots (raises a number of questions).. oh yeah, he is supposed to be running the country too.
This. =] Although I guess I ocassionaly use lol, but I use it in the Dutch sense meaning "fun". For me, using lol means it's funny, but not that much.
