tl; dr: Meaning of the abbreviation simply explained

Tl; dr is one of the countless abbreviations that circulate on the Internet, but the meaning of which is not easy to understand on its own. In this practical tip we will tell you what is hidden behind the ominous four letters tl; dr.

tl; dr: Meaning of the abbreviation simply explained

• The abbreviation tl; dr is the abbreviation for "Too Long; Didn't Read".
• Texts originally perceived as too long were acknowledged with the comment "too long, not read". This could be private messages as well as articles.
• Over time, some authors simply turned the tables and used the abbreviation tl; dr for themselves. If the articles are particularly long, the authors offer a clearly abbreviated summary, which they identify with tl: dr.
• In the meantime there are also some services like a startup from Paris, which usefully calls itself tldr.io, that offer long articles in a shortened form.
• At the moment you are getting tldr as a browser bookmarklet as well as a Chrome extension and a Firefox extension is already in the starting blocks.
• The service is still free of charge, as currently registered users mainly take over the summary of the articles. Premium accounts that are subject to a fee will be offered later.

An abbreviation that you should also know is RSVP, because in this case you are expected to react.