The internet is full of acronyms, and IRL is an interesting one with a long and ever-evolving history.

Acronyms are abbreviations of words used to cut down on the time it takes to type. Acronyms are often typed and easier to understand when typed in capital letters.

There's no shame in seeing an acronym you don't recognize, and it's happened to everybody (or it eventually will).

IRL means “In Real Life”

IRL is used in a couple of ways. It is used to explain who you are, or someone you have met, in real life.

For example:
IRL I run MajorGeeks
Joey Belladonna is a great guy IRL (True story, BTW).

IRL was used more frequently, many years ago, before social media. As the internet grew, we tend to use nicknames less and our real names more frequently. Many years ago, most of us were nameless and faceless. There are still many places that IRL can be used, especially in gaming, but anywhere you don't use your real name and identity, including message forums like Reddit.

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