defends the usage on the basis of a claim that dictionaries do not make a distinction. The BuzzFeed style guide describes CBS and PBS as "acronyms ending in S". Comparing a few examples of each type Pronounced as a word, containing only initial letters NATO: "North Atlantic Treaty Organization" Scuba: "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus" Laser: "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation" GIF: "graphics interchange format" Pronounced as a word, containing a mixture of initial and non-initial letters Amphetamine: "alpha-methyl-phenethylamine" Gestapo: (secret state police) Radar: "radio detection and ranging" Lidar: "light detection and ranging" Pronounced as a combination of spelling out and a word CD-ROM: (cee-dee-) "compact disc read-only memory" IUPAC: (i-u- or i-u-pee-a-cee) "International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry" JPEG: (jay- or jay-pee-e-gee) "Joint Photographic Experts Group" SFMOMA: (ess-ef- or ess-ef-em-o-em-a) "San Francisco Museum of Modern Art" Pronounced only as a string of letters BBC: "British Broadcasting Corporation" OEM: "original equipment manufacturer" USA: "United States of America" VHF: "very high frequency" Pronounced as a string of letters, but with a shortcut AAA: (Triple-A) "American Automobile Association"; "abdominal aortic aneurysm"; "anti-aircraft artillery"; "Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración" (Three-As) "Amateur Athletic Association" IEEE: (I triple-E) "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers" NAACP: (N double-A C P or N A A C P) "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People" NCAA: (N C double-A or N C two-A or N C A A) "National Collegiate Athletic Association" Shortcut incorporated into name 3M: (three M) originally "Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company" W3C: (W-three C) "World Wide Web Consortium" A2DP: (A-two D P) "Advanced Audio Distribution Profile" C4ISTAR: (C-four Istar) "Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance" Mnemonic acronyms, an abbreviation that is used to remember phrases or principles KISS (Kiss) "Keep it simple, stupid", a design principle preferring simplicity SMART (Smart) "Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time-related", A principle of setting of goals and objectives FAST (Fast) "Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties, Time", helps detect and enhance responsiveness to the needs of a person having a stroke DRY (Dry) "Don't repeat yourself", A principle of software development aimed at reducing repetition of software patterns Multi-layered acronyms AIM: "AOL Instant Messenger," in which "AOL" originally stood for "America Online" AFTA: "ASEAN Free Trade Area," where ASEAN stands for "Association of Southeast Asian Nations" NAC Breda: (Dutch football club) "NOAD ADVENDO Combinatie" ("NOAD ADVENDO Combination"), formed by the 1912 merger of