Start Jargon & Terms

Like many communities, when the members of STARTexp started to connect, they started to create their own terminology. Jokes, hashtags, memes, and common themes (example: glitter & unicorns) emerged and were quickly assimilated into the unofficial and ever-changing STARTexp lexicon. This guide offers up some of the currently most oft-used tags, terms, and phrases – so next time you see a post apologizing for #threadjacking or wonder why someone is posting a “halfie,” you, too, can understand what on earth is being said.

Most Common Acronyms

• ZOMG — A variant of “OMG” (Oh My Gosh). Origin is said to be when someone accidentally hit the ‘z’ key instead of ‘shift’ when typing OMG.  Pronounced “zoh-my-gosh”
• FOMO — Fear Of Missing Out.  START conversations that go all day or overload of START notifications increases this feeling.
• LOL — Laugh Out Loud.
• 3D Friends — Friends who you know outside of the 2D world of Facebook.
• n00bs– New people…newbies…newbs…n00bs.
• FTW — For The Win.  A congratulatory remark used to signify the ultimate comment or post.

START derivatives

• STARTexp: the START Experiment!
• STARTers: Everyone in the Start Experiment
• STARTalum: People who have completed a round of STARTexp
• STARTlets: People in the newest group of STARTers
• STARTner: Your START partner, of course!
• STARTjoy: it began as a giving movement to raise funds that would send STARTers to STARTconf, but it has become so much more…
• STARTastic: FANTASTIC and related to START
• STARTconf or STARTconference: a START event held in September 2013 and October 2014 by Jon Acuff
• STARTbomb:  something posted by a STARTer that goes off in your head/soul like a bomb. Churchy types call it “revelation”.
• START events: gatherings imagined and planned by STARTers in the Facebook group, just for fun, sometimes referred back to:
  • STARTpicnic: an epic picnic started by Ronne Rock. Go search for it in this group’s search bar. You won’t be disappointed.
  • STARTwedding: a giant wedding with glitter, unicorns, and more. See above.

START currency

This began when one STARTer began arbitrarily assigning points to other STARTers for funny, clever, etc. things as a way to express agreement or approval.  Pretty soon lots of STARTers were making up their own currency, so if you see one of these, now you know. No cash value.

• #libbypoints
• #westbucks
• #puddincoins
• #Unicoins
• #Simoleans

Common hashtags

• #threadcruisin — moving down all the comments in a post thread, and often “liking” many of them on the way down to the most recent. May or may not have a “g” on the end. (Note: a “thread” is just a list of all the comments on a Facebook post.)
• #threadjacking — hijacking a comment thread on a post, and turning the discussion in a totally different direction than the original post.
• #threadcrash — when the number of comments on a thread goes over 1k and the fb servers crash as a result.
• #allthethings – The “All the _____” hashtag appears randomly in threads, like a wild animal, attached to anything and everything (e.g. #allthehashtags, #allthevacations, #allthenuts, #alltheSTARTers, etc.). It’s a spinoff of this popular internet meme.
• #glitterati — Originally, the group of STARTers from the 1st & 2nd 1,000 comment threads in the Facebook group.  These folks planned #startwedding and #startpicnic… complete with glitter.
• #JesusJuke — This is a Jon Acuff original and pops up a lot from people familiar with his work. See this blog post.
• #acuffed — photoshopped images where Jon is looking off to the side at something interesting. See examples.
• #vitalpastry — an iPhone autocorrect when one STARTer was trying to call another a “vital part.” It stuck.
• #blessedjesuschicken – Chick-Fil-A #ofcourse!

Other Terms & Themes

• UNICORNS — we have a thing for them here, apparently.  Somehow they became the big joke in Round 1 of STARTexp, and they have been a randomly recurring theme in posts ever since then.  Just a heads-up.
• (sarcasm font) — an expression used to clarify when a comment should be read with your tongue in your cheek
• *action or emotion* — asterisks preceding and following a statement are used to say something you’re doing.  Example: “We’re submitting class photos?! *checks mirror* *takes 10 pictures* *is vain*
• Thread — the list of comments on a single Facebook post.
• Selfie –- a picture you take of yourself, most often on your phone or computer camera.
• Halfies — Half-face selfie. Inspired by a desire for unity among the #STARTalums. Also sort of inspired by Ryan Westbrooks.