- This term became very popular and started to become widely used in the internet world, especially in the online gaming world on the internet, as more and more online multiplayer games began to be released after the internet was invented in the late 20th century. It is used to alert other online people that they will be away from the computer screen for a short period in order to prevent any sort of misleading concern or misunderstanding. It’s become a useful tool to notify people of your status in a short period of time, making internet conversations a lot more time-efficient.
AFK(7)
adverb Acronym
describes the situation when a gamer is temporarily away from the computer, hence, the keyboard.
Etymology : computer chat abbreviation of “Away from keyboard”.
Source : I was playing Starcraft 2 with a friend in California. He had to use the bathroom and he notified me by saying, “bathroom break, afk”. 09/11/2011.
Last modified: 6 December 2011