When we "laugh out loud" online, are we really praying to Satan, the prince of darkness himself?
The answer is no, but an image posted by a user on the social news site Reddit is warning the Internet otherwise.
According to the directive, which is meant to be shared "with Christians," the classic and ubiquitous "LOL" acronym stands for "Lucifer our lord," something the image's creator doesn't find funny at all.
"BEWARE: Stop using the abbreviation 'LOL,'" the hastily made image that invokes the same qualities as a Westboro Baptist Church sign reads. "'LOL stands for 'Lucifer our Lord.' Satanists end their prayers by saying Lucifer our Lord,' in short, "LOL.' Every time you type 'LOL' you are endorsing Satan."
If the warning, posted by Redditor DkryptX, in the "atheism" subreddit, were true, there would be a lot of Satanists on Twitter.
"I met the prime minister in overalls lol," pop star Justin Bieber tweeted from Instagram in one such example. Columnist Roland Martin also has a habit of ending his tweets with "LOL."
"Can someone please tell him that YOLO means 'Youth Obeying Lucifer's Orders?"" joked another Reddit user. Fans of the rapper Drake might disagree. The former star of the TV series "Degrassi: The Next Generation" popularized the "you only live once" acronym recently.
Still, the image warns "Do not use 'LOL ever again!"
Other sarcastic comments on Reddit repurposed "swag" to mean "Satan's wishes are granted," "ROFL" as "rise, our father Lucifer," and "BRB" as "Beelzebub rules below." Who knew that saving keystrokes was such a devilish pursuit?
To most people, however, ROFL means "rolling on floor laughing" and BRB is simply "be right back."
For language prudes, the outing of these "real" definitions may come as a relief. According to commenters the Reddit thread, WTF isn't an offensive question at all. It really means "worship the fallen."
