L!L

(I'll explain the L!L name later)

It has come to the Internet's attention that the acronym, "LOL" (Laughing Out Loud) has been overused/misused/abused. People use "LOL" to simply state that something was slightly humorous, when it was originally intended to state that something was so funny as to literally cause out-loud laughter, hence "Laughing Out Loud."

"LOL" also does not allow for the expression of degrees of laughter. The Internet has adopted a new standard called L!L that will allow not only for the conveying of the level of laughter, but for much easier-to-type codes. Note also that previous standards did not allow for the expression of non-humor, which L0 effortlessly does, which is also much easier than typing, "I don't think that was very funny, Scott."

Here are the codes to be used when expressing laughter level:

L0 = Not funny at all
L1 = I smiled - traditional smile :)
L2 = I chuckled or nasal snorted
L3 = I laughed out loud - traditional LOL
L4 = I laughed pretty hard for more than just a few moments - traditional ROTFL - also, any L3 accompanied by clapping
L5 = No more, please, I can't stop the tears - can't catch breath (sightings include beverage of choice spewing from nose, or wetting of pants)

+ = partial upgrade. Indicates any degree of laughter between those established above. Hence, a loud chuckle that did not reach full laughter status would rate an L2+. Situations invoking L5+ are considered dangerous and are to be avoided. Dreadful humor that commands an L0- generally results in a fist-fight.

Note that L!L has not yet reached 100% acceptance, so you may have to instruct new people from time to time. In the future, when someone sends you a LOL, please refer them to the above standards so that they won't continue to embarrass themselves.