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OFAS...

562lonnie

New in Town
Messages
14
Location
Long Beach
Hi,
I've seen this acronym many a times on this site but can anyone tell me what it stands for?
I know it relates to an internet site such as ebay but what is it short for???
I'm losin it...[huh]

Regards,
Lonnie
 

Mustang

One of the Regulars
Messages
290
Location
Michigan
562lonnie said:
Hi,
I've seen this acronym many a times on this site but can anyone tell me what it stands for?
I know it relates to an internet site such as ebay but what is it short for???
I'm losin it...[huh]

Regards,
Lonnie


Thanks for asking. I was wondering the same thing! :eusa_clap lol
 

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
Not for me

Call me a curmudgeon, 'cause that's what I am, but I refuse to use the acronym. It takes just as many letters to type eBay, you only have to hold the shift key for one letter, and it is instantly clear what we are talking about. Isn't simplicity better?;)

Brad
 

Flieger

Practically Family
Messages
570
Location
Umea, Sweden
Was there a PM about NOT using the name "eBay" here on the Lounge that I never got? :) More to the point: Who came up with OFAS and why? [huh]

/F
 

scotrace

Head Bartender
Staff member
Messages
14,389
Location
Small Town Ohio, USA
A bit of history:

Somehow, somewhere, the rule about not posting any live eBay auctions got misinterpreted to mean that ebay could not be mentioned at all. So we got several iterations of speaking of ebay without saying the word. The one that got the most currency and survived, even after we tried to make it clear that one could climb on MK's shoulders and shout EEEBBAAAYYY as loud as one wanted, was "OFAS."
Ebay is obviously a HUGE part of the collecting world. To ban discussion of it wouldn't be workable, or even desirable.

For some odd reason OFAS is still used. As Brad says, it's easier to just type ebay eh? It would also help to make all these "what's 'OFAS'"? posts go away. :)
 

Spellflower

Practically Family
Messages
511
Location
Brooklyn
Scotrace, for the record, what is the rule regarding posting live auctions? I remember there being a sticky by Andykev stating that it wasn't allowed, but I don't see it anymore, and even MK posts links to live auctions in the classifieds.
 

fatwoul

Practically Family
Messages
923
Location
UK
I suspect a little bit of cliquishness behind the use of terms like "OFAS". It's like a gentle form of secret language, that only members of the club are privy to.

Most of the discussion forums I have visited seem to exhibit this behaviour to varying degrees, and we're lucky that here, OFAS is about the only one people use. Some sites are thoroughly inaccessible due to the amount of acronyms.

Incidentally, is the acronym for "Our Favourite Auction Site" pronounced ("Oh-Fass"), or is it stated as a string of letters with ellipses shown ("O.F.A.S.")?
 

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