Rant The use of 'TBH'

Good day people of Bit-Tech forums,

I feel like I need a rant! Why do people use the shorthand 'TBH' to emphasise their points in posts? At other times when they don't use this are they lying?

 

Yes, tbh.

 

It's quicker than typing 'To be honest'?

People say 'To be honest' when making a point in real life, why is using the shorthand such a bad thing?

 

and imo... grrrrrrr

 

^ TBH QFT

Move along nothing to see here.

 

To be used when they aren't pulling your leg TBH

 

Its a speed issue, that's all.

 

TBH i find people use it when the should be saying IMHO.

 

The OP's point is, why do people make a point about being honest? Are they implying that they have been lying up to that point?

 

Then it's a misunderstanding of the phrase tbh. It's a conversational frill that doesn't translate well onto the internet, much like sarcasm.

Imo is a phrase that has evolved almost as a disclaimer - a reminder that you're not posting fact, just an opinion, to try and minimize flame possibility.

 

Tbh, tbh isn't much of a bad one...tbh its when you come across all the weird ones....so tbh I think its rather good..

 

I don't see the problem tbh.

 

wtfbbq

 

It shows lack of vocabulary and implies at other times the writer is not honest. I rarely hear it said in everyday spoken conversation. Perhaps it is used on computer forums a lot because really computers and components are rather boring, and adding this gives the post a sense of drama and importance. It then becomes a memetic behaviour like wrapping cables in cloth.


edit 'IMO' is useless adage too, why would ones opinion be anything other than honest.

 

TBH, DILIGAF.

 

tbh, it just gives the sentence a little more flow, imho.

IMHO could equally be humble, which is how I tend to look upon it tbh.

 

...Or, it implies the writer has given it some thought (to be encouraged on t'web) before posting and is giving you what they genuinely think, also to be encouraged.

It tends to get used in advance of things that you're not likely to want to hear, such as "tbh, this thread is nothing but a waste of my partially-publicly-funded employer's time".

 

I've noticed that it's predominantly a British thing. Generally speaking I find that non-brits only use 'tbh' when they're being smartasses on gaming forums and the like.

"ur bad gtfo QQ moar tbh" etc.

Whereas brits tend to use it in the more normal context when posting; the sort of context in which you'd actually say "to be honest" in a spoken conversation, like Porkins' example.

I tend to take it as sometihng that implies either a *shrug* or matter-of-fact tone to a post; but I also tend to really dislike it because I associate it with the kind of noobtalk flaming above. That's what I get for reading WoW PvP forums in the past.

 

It's another way of saying: "To be frank...". It is a way of qualifying that a statement is being made without euphemism or circumlocution. TBH.

 

Oh. I thought it was tits bum hoe.

Damn, I've used it inappropriately then.