It's stupid. For your own sake, never use that word. Most respectable people use that term in real life to make fun of it. At least that I know of. It's the same for all internet lingo. Many people, typically those new to the online experience of forums and IMing and stuff, discover the lingo and find it cool and "1337" and superior to talk that way. And many of us after that period, if we went through that period, realized how silly it was and decided to actually make an effort to type everything at least somewhat readable and grammatically and what-not correct.
"...*phew*"
-Nu
