Acronyms & abbreviations that I've come across during my time in EA. Big thanks to the CEA team for their help compiling this.
Are there any I've misunderstood or missed? Please add more in the comments!
| acronym | meaning |
| :))) | big smile |
| ~ | approximately / roughly |
| 80k | 80,000 hours |
| AFAICT | as far as I can tell |
| AFAIK | as far as I know |
| AFAIU | as far as I understand |
| AMF | Against Malaria Foundation |
| AP | action points |
| ASTLAC | approved subject to looking at comments |
| ATS | applicant tracking software |
| b/c | because |
| BAU | business as usual |
| BIRD | boundaries, input, responsible, decision maker |
| BLUF | bottom line up front |
| BOTEC | back of the envelope calculation |
| BRT | be right there |
| CB | community building |
| CBG | community building grantees |
| CBPCs | criteria-based plan changes |
| CEA | Centre for Effective Altruism |
| CEA | cost-effectiveness analysis |
| CF | comparing 2 things |
| COB | close of business (i.e. end of day) |
| COP | close of play |
| CoS | Chief of Staff |
| CR's | core responsibilities |
| crux | a crux for a belief B is another belief C such that if I change my mind about C, that will also change my mind a lot about B |
| cruxy | essential, difficult consideration |
| CTA | call to action |
| CW | content warning |
| DE&I | diversity, equity and inclusion |
| DIPY | discounted impact-adjusted peak years |
| DW | don't worry |
| e.g. | example |
| EA | effective altruism |
| EAA | effective animal advocacy |
| EACF | EA Coordination Forum (event) |
| EAG | Effective Altruism Global |
| EAIF | Effective Altruism Infrastructure Fund |
| ED | Executive Director |
| ELI5 | explain like I'm 5 years old |
| EOD | end of day |
| EOW | end of week |
| ETG | earn to give |
| EV | Effective Ventures |
| EV | expected value |
| EVP | employee value proposition |
| FAO | for the attention of |
| FTE | full time employee / equivalent |
| FWIW | for what it's worth |
| FYI | for your information (i.e. no action points) |
| FYIO | for your information only |
| GD | GiveDirectly |
| GDPR | data privacy regulations in the UK / Europe |
| GH | global health |
| GWWC | Giving What We Can |
| h/t | hat tip (meaning giving credit to someone) |
| HM | hiring manager |
| HMU | hit me up |
| HNW | high net worth |
| HODL | basically means “who’s owning this responsibility?” |
| IAM | I am in a meeting |
| IANAL | I am not a lawyer (i.e. “this is not legal advice”) |
| IASPCs | impact-adjusted specific plan changes |
| ICYMI | in case you missed it |
| IDM | I don't mind |
| IIRC | if I recall correctly |
| IIUC | if I understand correctly |
| IKR | I know right |
| ILYA | I love you all |
| IME | in my experience |
| IMHO | in my humble opinion |
| IMO | in my opinion |
| inner sim | inner simulation |
| IRL | in real life |
| ISO | International Standards Organization |
| ITN | importance, tractability, neglectedness |
| ITT | ideological Turing test |
| JD | job description |
| JFC | Jesus f**ing Christ |
| JSYK | just so you know |
| JTBC | just to be clear |
| KYB | know your business |
| LFG | let’s f***ing go |
| LGTM | looks good to me |
| LMICs | lower middle income countries |
| LMK | let me know |
| LP | low priority |
| LT | leadership team |
| LTR | likelihood to recommend |
| LW | LessWrong |
| LYK | let you know |
| M&E | monitoring and evaluation |
| MECE | mutually exclusive collectively exhaustive |
| MRSE | median survey respondent equivalent |
| MTW | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday |
| NAN | no action needed |
| NB | nota bene (actually means "note") |
| NFG | no f***ing good |
| NGL | not gonna lie |
| NGMI | not going to make it |
| NNTR | no need to respond |
| NSFW | not safe for work |
| OFC / ofc | of course |
| OKR | objectives & key results |
| OOM | order of magnitude |
| OOTB | out of the box |
| OP | Open Philanthropy |
| OPSEC | info sharing / operations security |
| OTOH | on the other hand |
| OTP | on the phone |
| PAYE | pay as you earn |
| PFA | please find attached |
| PITA | pain in the a*s |
| ppl | people |
| PTAL | please take a look |
| put on ice | delayed indefinitely / cancelled |
| RACI | responsible, accountable, consulted, input / informed (the traditional version of BIRD), pronounced "ray-c" |
| rat | rationalist |
| RE | regarding |
| RFD | request for discussion |
| s.t. | such that |
| SEO | search engine optimization |
| SGTM | sounds good to me |
| sitrep | situation report (update on where thinking / work stands in relation to broader strategic goals) |
| SJW | social justice warrior |
| SMH | shaking my head |
| SoT | source of truth |
| sth | something |
| sus | suspect / suspicious (informal), can often playfully mean something is questionable |
| SWB | subjective wellbeing |
| TAP | trigger action planning |
| TBC | to be confirmed |
| TBD | to be determined |
| TBF | to be fair |
| TC | take care |
| TH | Trajan House |
| TIA | thanks in advance |
| TIL | today I learned |
| TL’s | team leads |
| TLDR (or tl;dr) | too long; didn't read (i.e. summary) |
| TM | trademark (e.g. being an adult™) |
| ToC | theory of change |
| TOIL | time off in lieu (i.e. you worked on a holiday or weekend, and so you take that time off a different day) |
| TW | “trigger warning” Way to broadcast content below might be problematic for some people to read, so they may want to skip (e.g. “TW: brief description of violent things”) |
| UNODIR | unless otherwise directed |
| VoTs | value of time estimates |
| VP | virtual program |
| w/ | with |
| w/c | week commencing |
| WFH | work from home |
| WFM | works for me |
| WIP | work in progress |
| WRT (or w/r/t) | with regards to |
| WSJ | Wall Street Journal |
| WTAF | what the actual f**k |
| WTBU (or WTB) | watch team backup |
| xp | experience |
| ymmv | your mileage may vary (i.e. you may have a different experience) |
| YoY | year over year |
This was cool to read — a number I didn't know! :D
'Crux' has a quasi-formal definition when used by EA/rat types. I think your definition might be good enough for navigating discussions where the word is used, but I think crux (as formally defined) is a cool/useful concept :)
Thanks @Bella! I added "crux" to the list and linked the article you shared.