FWIW, Scrabble Controversy Brewing

Modernists are pushing. Traditionalists are cringing. The result is yet to be determined. The issue? Whether or not words used in mobile telephone text messages and Internet chat rooms should be allowed in games of Scrabble.

An article at telegraph.co.uk says that "Modernisers claim that shortened text phrases such as ttfn (ta ta for now), cuthen (see you then) and fwiw (for what it's worth) should be included in Official Scrabble Words, the reference book of 160,000 permitted words."

They are, according to the article, pushing for Mattel (the game's publisher in Europe) "to consider putting numbered tiles into the game so that players can spell out text message words such as gr8 (great) and 2mrw (tomorrow)."

A spokesman for Mattel said, "We are in favour of including some text words in future official Scrabble dictionaries."