TL;DR
{{Short description|"too long; didn't read"; internet comment}}
{{Redirect|TLDR|the software documentation project|TLDR Pages}}
{{DMY|date=April 2025}}
TL;DR or tl;dr, short for "too long; didn't read", is a form of internet slang frequently used to indicate a summary of a longer text or to express that the content was disregarded because of its excessive length.
History
The expression TL;DR emerged in the early 2000s during the growth of online forums and digital communication. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the earliest known use of the phrase dates back to a 2002 post on the Usenet newsgroup rec.games.video.nintendo.{{Cite OED|tl;dr}}
In 2009, the term was further popularized through publications like Mo' Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined by Aaron Peckham, a printed compilation based on the crowdsourced slang repository Urban Dictionary.{{Cite book |last=Peckham |first=Aaron |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u27ferHysRMC&dq=%22too+long;+didn't+read%22&pg=PA214 |title=Mo' Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined |date=2009-01-01 |publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing |isbn=978-0-7407-8892-5 |language=en}}
The same year, TL;DR was listed in David Pogue's book World According to Twitter, which collected humorous and insightful tweets.{{Cite book |last=Pogue |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0AmPkXTAIScC&dq=%22too+long;+didn't+read%22&pg=PT86 |title=World According to Twitter |date=2009-08-15 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=978-1-60376-173-4 |language=en}}
In August 2013, TL;DR was officially added to Oxford Dictionaries Online, recognizing its widespread use in digital communications.{{cite web| url= http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/august-2013-update/ | title= Oxford Dictionaries Online quarterly update: new words added to oxforddictionaries.com today | date= 28 August 2013 | publisher= Oxford University Press | work= OxfordWords blog| quote= TL;DR, abbrev.: ‘too long didn’t read’: used as a dismissive response to a lengthy online post, or to introduce a summary of a lengthy post.| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130828030516/http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/august-2013-update/ | archive-date= 2013-08-28 | url-status=dead}} Merriam-Webster also documented the term, noting its establishment as part of modern digital lexicon.{{cite Merriam-Webster|tl;dr}}
Usage
TL;DR is commonly used in online discussions, comment sections, and social media posts. Writers often employ the acronym to summarize a preceding lengthy text, allowing readers who prefer brevity to quickly understand the main point.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Dave |title=What does TLDR mean? Understanding the internet shorthand for lengthy text and its various uses |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/tldr-meaning |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} Conversely, readers might use TL;DR as a critique, signaling that a text was excessively verbose or lacked clarity.
The acronym reflects broader concerns about attention span, information overload, and the attention economy in digital communication.{{Cite web |title=Attention Economy |url=https://hbr.org/2001/03/the-attention-economy |website=Harvard Business Review |access-date=2025-04-26}}
Cultural impact
The spread of TL;DR has led to its use beyond casual internet exchanges. Some online publications, especially blogs and news websites, include official "TL;DR" sections summarizing articles for quick consumption. Educational, technical, and legal documents have also adopted similar practices to cater to audiences seeking quick access to core information.{{Cite web |title=TL;DRs Are Here to Stay |url=https://www.wired.com/story/tldr-summaries-digital-reading/ |website=Wired |access-date=2025-04-26}}
Moreover, the style of communication represented by TL;DR has sparked discussions around the value of deep reading versus the convenience of summarization in an era dominated by short-form content.{{Cite web |title=Is the Internet Shortening Our Attention Spans? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/06/attention-span-internet/562941/ |website=The Atlantic |access-date=2025-04-26}}
See also
{{Wiktionary|tl;dr|TL;DR}}
- Abstract
- Attention economy
- Attention span
- BLUF – bottom line up front
- Information overload
- Internet culture
- Skimming (reading)