A few thoughts on modern communications

I've been reading boards dedicated to MMORPGs, like Freddy's House, and boards dedicated to Tabletop RPGs, like ENWorld. The difference in communication skills is stunning, all the more so when you realise that some of these are the same people. The MMO boards are all "Like OMG, WTF! W@nker!" and the ENWorld site has discussions on the thematic and genre differences between science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

I need some way to communicate laughing out loud that is not "LOL!". Because "LOL!" no longer really means "laughing out loud", it means "You said something funny, and this is my acknowledgement." This can be seen when people, for emphasis, use "LOLOLOLOLOL!", which means "You said something very funny, and this is my acknowledgement." The related acronym "ROTFL" still holds its meaning, but when was the last time you actually did that?

At a DART station recently, I overheard a teenage girl say, aloud, as a response to someone else's comment, "Loll." It took me quite a while to work out what it was, and if I didn't know someone else who says "grin", rather than grinning, I'd probably still be wondering. Her friends seemed to know what she meant, and nobody said anything that would have indicated it was out of the ordinary.