Age sex location

Age/Sex/Location (commonly A/S/L or ASL) is an article of Internet slang used on instant messaging programs and on Internet chatrooms. It is used as a question to find out the ageing, gender, and location of the person one is talking to.

When the Internet was first introduced to the general public, IRC, or chatting online, was considered a huge phenomenon as people had the ability to communicate with complete strangers from anywhere in the world in real time. The excitement of sending one line of text via the computer and receiving a response from someone (who could be computer or human) in an unknown location—potentially anywhere on earth—prompted many to be curious about the people who responded, as they often hid under a moniker such as Ace81NoFatChix or MegaHAL .

Internet chatting came to be seen as having a social function, a place where people could meet, and hopefully become friends, or become involved romantically. Some saw chatting as a large and international dating service. Thus, one of the most common questions people had for a complete stranger, other than his/her name or appearance, would be their age, gender, and location. Typing How old are you , Where do you come from and Are you (really) a girl proved to be a cumbersome task for many computer users. Hence, the questions are simplified to a single ASL , allowing easy communication and understanding, which allows a similarly simple and unverifiable answer such as 18/F/Hawaii :) or the more verifiable I ll send u my webcam :) .

The popularity of the statement is evidenced by its prolific use on the Internet. In fact, in an instant messaging program, MSN Messenger, the term is implemented as an emoticon when one types () into their dialog entry bar. To people not in the habit of seriously using the query, it is most commonly associated with young teenagers and AOL users, as well as Internet Relay Chat networks such as DALnet. ASL is not only used by teenagers, however. Many in their 20s or 30s use this statement often, especially when playing with youthful Internet users, or interacting with a very select group of people their age. The use of ASL by older users attempting to prey on younger users means the term can be connected to serious Cybercrime.

The usage of ASL in online forums on serious topics can be seen as rude and against Netiquette, which has encouraged many Internet trolls to use it as a lighthearted attempt to incite interesting discussions and excitement in stoic, unpleasant arenas of discourse.