When e-mailing on a pager or cellphone, long words are a no-no. Slang like LOL (laughing out loud) or BRB (be right back) saves on text-messaging scrolling and character costs. The shorthand is popular and easy to use, but e-mail aficionados beware. Keep the short stuff out of business e-mail. “If you use slang acronyms, you’d better hope that I get it,” says business etiquette consultant Joli Andre. “I don’t have time to send back an e-mail asking what you mean.” Andre, who runs Polished Professionals (www.polishedprofessionals.com) in Rancho Santa Fe, California, says the shorthand is just another example of people behaving much too casually in business situations. She also warns against all-lowercase letters, misspelled words, and the all-too-common grammatical mistakes. “Business is serious,” Andre says. “This is other people’s money. As a client, I would wonder, if you are that casual with your e-mail style, are you that way with my business?” So BTW (by the way), save the slang for your BF or GF (boyfriend or girlfriend).