<p>Almost any TLA (three-letter-acronym) will have a large number of meanings.  It seems to me that in many cases if there is one statistical meaning there will also be another--if not now, then perhaps in the future.  Therefore it is foolhardy to assume that <em>any</em> TLA, no matter how conventional, will be correctly understood even from the context, no matter how obvious it may be to the original proposer or would-be respondents.</p>

<p>We should insist that all acronyms be written out (the first time) in all cases.  If a question is worth asking, it's worth spending another ten seconds to ask it clearly and unambiguously.</p>
