a) Acronyms peculiar to alt.backrubs:
         CMT    = Certified MT (see LMT and RMT)
         CTS    = Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
         LITA   = Look In The alt.backrubs Archive
         LMT    = Licensed MT (compare with RMT, see question 4.1 for more
                               information about licensing)
         MT     = Massage Therapist (Massage Technician, in some places)
         RMT    = Registered MT (usually abbreviated to MT, compare LMT)
         RSI    = Repetitive Stress Injury
         TCM    = Traditional Chinese Medicine
         TMJ    = dysfunction of the jaw (temporomandibular joint
                                          pain-dysfunction syndrome)

------------------------------

        b) Organizations:
         ACCET  = USA Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and
                  Training  
         ABMP   = Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals
         AMTA   = American Massage Therapy Association
         AOBTA  = American Oriental Body Therapy Association 
         AMR'TA = Alchemical Medicine Research and Teaching Association
         CCA    = USA Career College Association Accrediting Commission on
                  Trade and Technical Schools 
         COMTAA = USA Commission on Massage Training Accreditation/Approval 
         NCETMB = USA National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage
                  and Bodywork
         NCBTMB = USA National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage
                  and Bodywork

------------------------------

        c) Other acronyms and abbreviations you should be familiar with:
         ETLA  = Extended TLA, i.e. a four letter acronym
         FAQ   = Frequently Asked Question (this is also the traditional
                 acronym for a list of FAQs)
         FAQL  = Frequently Asked Question List
         FTP   = File Transfer Protocol 
         GMT   = Greenwich Mean Time
         ISBN  = International Standard Book Number
         TLA   = Three Letter Acronym
         TM    = Trademark
         URL   = Universal Resource Locator, a computer network address
                 standard developed in conjunction with the World Wide Web
         USA   = United States of America
         WAIS  = Wide Area Information Servers (a type of automated index
                 of documents available via the Internet)
         WWW   = World Wide Web (a global network of hypermedia documents
                 connected by links implemented using the Internet)
         :-)   = An emoticon often used to express humorous intent or
                 happiness, also used to abate a strong statement so as not
                 to offend
         :)    = ditto (but less formal)

------------------------------

        d) `Please, sir, I want some more.'
         For more definitions see `Frequently Asked Questions about Usenet'
which is regularly posted to the news.announce.newusers and news.answers
newsgroups.  There is a list of resources to help you understand acronyms
at <URL:http://dir.yahoo.com/Reference/Acronyms_and_Abbreviations/>.

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