Latam

16:36 Jan 8, 2015 

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14:55 Jan 8, 2015 

@ Neil
1. your question was about:"Latam" and was directed at English natives. The answer to "do we use this short form" is quite simply "no".
2.However, we do use "LatAm" quite frequently and it would be easily understood by native speakers hence it really is "non-Pro"imo.
And by the way, no one is getting up on high horses here. Far more difficult questions have been deemed as "non-pro" so there does seem to be a varying range of ideas concerning this. Perhaps it's time to drop the whole split? I generally use the criteria of "easily understood off the top of head without need of dictionary".
Well, I wouldn't understand "Latam" but then, you gave it to us with Spanish context so it has to be translated anyway! ("LatAm" or the full words here.) As for choosing between synonyms, well, that's the translator's job (who has the whole context)

14:32 Jan 8, 2015 

In answer to those so offended by my comment, have you heard of a target audience? I ask because I believe that the kind of person interested enough to be reading about eBilling systems in Latin America is likely to know the abbreviation in the first place. Same would apply to someone interested in cars seeing the abbrev. “ABS”.
You’re the ones treating them like “imbeciles” – I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt.

10:27 Jan 8, 2015 

I think you're missing one teeny-weeny point here: the Q didn't concern LatAm in the first place! It was about Latam, and whether it was frequently used and if not, what others could be used. So, Andy, how many people shouldn't be reading it in the first place if it were Latam??? If we generally require this to be understood, then we could just as well use 'latam', or 'Lat-am', or 'Lat/am', or whatever, and if we didn't understand why on earth they're used, we'd be deemed imbeciles (???) As I see it, there should only be a little lee-way with abbreviations as there are so many similar ones used for different contexts and purposes.

09:01 Jan 8, 2015 

I don't really think that statements along the lines of “they probably shouldn't be reading it in the first place" are all that helpful, especially as Proz is getting a bit of a bashing these days on other sites for the perceived patronising stance of some contributors (among other gripes).
OK, so the client and you and I all know what it means. However, their customer base is worldwide, ranging from individuals through SMEs to multinational corporations, so what might be "a common abbreviation like LatAm " to the more illustrated among us, might not be so immediately apparent to those not so worldly-wise or knowledgeable. However, as I pointed out in my original query, it is not about the meaning but the desirability (or aesthetic if you like) of its use. And at the end of the day I'll apply my own criterion, as usual.

08:36 Jan 8, 2015 

Thanks a bunch guys. I try to brainstorm some fellow native speakers with a usage query and it's deemed "non-pro" by the self-anointed great and good hereof? Sorry, but our definitions of what is "pro" and "non-pro" appear to differ greatly.

00:10 Jan 8, 2015 

I believe Gallagy should post their suggestion as it's by far (in my experience) the most common form: "LatAm". All caps is less frequent, but still used.

"You shouldn't use abbreviations unless their meaning is instantly clear."
If someone reading the kind of text that uses a common abbreviation like LatAm doesn't really understand it, they probably shouldn't be reading it in the first place.

21:37 Jan 7, 2015 

I take your point. Thank you. It does appear that the form LatAm is more common than the all-caps variation.

21:30 Jan 7, 2015 

Why should I specifically refer to these links? I also pointed out that the form LatAm is unambiguous, the others are not. What you refer me to here points to what I did, but your registered response was LATAM - and that's what I don't really agree with. PANAM is widely known as that was the only name for the company, LATAM is a lot less well-known.

21:18 Jan 7, 2015