Why do people use euphemisms here - where there's no barrier to using explicit terms

[radicalfreedom]

Something I've noticed about this forum that I found weird and interesting - people consistently use Euphemism and Acronyms here (CTB, SN, etc.). These make sense when discussing suicide in other forums where you might be censored, but it's really odd to me that we keep using them here.

Thoughts on this?

 

[Releasefrompressure]

I think personally it puts it in better terms. Nobody likes the thought of dying. CTB (catch the bus) is lot nicer than saying dying.

SN and N etc is just short hand. It's not coded message

 

[Doombox]

No different than someone typing LOL.

 

[Hercules]

People use abbreviations like N or SN when talking about methods, because it is against the forum rules to directly name a method.

 

[rationaltake]

I think jargon has a way of making people feel part of a group or club. That might have something to do with it.

 

[Achlys]

People use abbreviations like N or SN when talking about methods, because it is against the forum rules to directly name a method.

It is not against the rules to name methods, such as sodium nitrite or nembutal. Perhaps you are mistaking this with the rule against naming sources?

 

[ambiendreams]

I think personally it puts it in better terms. Nobody likes the thought of dying. CTB (catch the bus) is lot nicer than saying dying.

SN and N etc is just short hand. It's not coded message

I thought ctb meant cease to be

 

[The Abyss]

The one I don't get is CBT.

 

[Doombox]

The one I don't get is CBT.

Well technically it's Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

 

[myopybyproxy]

had the same question - suppose it's easier to type three letters than an entire phrase

 

[georgecostanza]

I think personally it puts it in better terms. Nobody likes the thought of dying. CTB (catch the bus) is lot nicer than saying dying.

SN and N etc is just short hand. It's not coded message

Oh, that's what it is supposed to stand for?

I mean - everybody knows what it is supposed to mean - but I have always been wondering what it abbreviates. My guess was either "Cease To Be" or "Cut The Bullshit".

Anybody with another suggestion?

Similar with SI for "Survival Instinct". I used to think it means "Suicide Inhibition". Same thing, though

Having said that I second the sentiment of the OP. Have also been wondering why most people here write about CTB instead of just committing suicide or killing yourself. I guess, it's like with most abbreviations - people write too much (instead of just CTB) and become lazy.

 

[Hercules]

Oh, that's what it is supposed to stand for?

I mean - everybody knows what it is supposed to mean - but I have always been wondering what it abbreviates. My guess was either "Cease To Be" or "Cut The Bullshit".

Anybody with another suggestion?

Catch The Bus
Close The Book
Cease To Breathe

 

[Cosmic dust]

If anything, it makes it easier to write.

 

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

The catch the bus euphemism has been used colloquially on the internet since the late 80s, when the ASH newsgroup and congruent suicidal venting spaces started to pop up. I think the slang has just simply been passed down by our predecessors, when I was using the old subreddit over 5 years ago people almost exclusively spoke using these terms.

 

[MyStateKilledMe]

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. In our case, it's an in-group vs. out-group thing, and the in-group uses jargon to exclude the out-group. Drug dealers and users have their jargon. Prosties and johns have theirs. IT workers have theirs. Lawyers have theirs. And so on. Oftentimes, the jargon is grammatically and semantically wrong. But that doesn't matter, because correctness isn't the goal; exclusion is.

So when we say "CTB", rather than "commit suicide", we're simply setting ourselves apart from the pro-lifers, as we should. Just like those other groups I listed set themselves apart from their outsiders.

 

[eremito]

Ok - I am aging, going old. Not "senior", not "mature", not "adult +" but aging. I notice the elements of political correctness in discourse. If I call the death by a catchy idiom, this euphemism will not change a thing in the meaning of my message. CTB is death. I may fear it, I may feel bitter but will the idiom raise my mood?
Going further, I wouldn't like to simplify my message to short abbreviations only. Things are going easier, but I wouldn't like to overtly simplify the language - abbreviations instead of full wording of ideas. I would not like to impoverish my thoughts, my ideas and my experience of things.

 

[MG_39]

I think this became more common at the time when you used multi-tap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-tap when sending sms on mobile phones. "Slang abbreviations" was so much easier to write, as example wdym? instead of what do you mean? And even with todays communication with smart phones/tablets and computers it have stayed and a lot of people use these abbreviations for a lot of words. So I would say the reason is because it's convenient.

 

[ablmnop]

Yeah I have very mixed feelings about the CTB thing. I understand that it sounds nicer, but it does make it feel like a club, like if I kill myself I'm part of this group and just catching this bus in the sky go to off and be with my buddies. And I understand the appeal of that for sure. But in the end, killing yourself is a big, heavy decision, and I sometimes think maybe it shouldn't be obscured with euphemisms at all. I guess I feel like it should be looked at directly.

Anyway, I don't known where I stand on that but just something that has crossed my mind.

 

[happy?1270]

I think personally it puts it in better terms. Nobody likes the thought of dying. CTB (catch the bus) is lot nicer than saying dying.

SN and N etc is just short hand. It's not coded message

Oh ctb is catch the bus I thought it was cease to be
Lol Srry I c everyone saying that sorry to ping haha