INB4 is an acronym that is quite popular on numerous message boards and forums online. However, it is limited mainly to certain geek centric online forums. You won’t find a lot of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook comments with “INB4” on them. If you just use those social media apps, the chances of you coming across the term “INB4” are very slim.  However, if you have come across it and want to know more about it, this post has got you covered. Let’s get started.

INB4: All You Need to Know

What is INB4?

INB4 is an acronym for “In Before”. On its own, it doesn’t say much about how it should be used online. It’s not just a one-size-fits-all replacement of the phrase “in before” in all conversations. It isn’t like “brb”. You can’t paste anywhere in a sentence to replace the words “in before” and expect everyone to know exactly what you mean when you post it on social media.

How is INB4 used?

INB4 is never used on its own. It’s always a part of a conversation and something usually follows INB4. It doesn’t form an entire message by itself. It’s not like “wtf” or “smh”. This is why it is such a big trend on online message boards, as every topic posted by a user is meant to start a discussion, displaying a thread of responses from other users below it.

Members of the message board often use INB4 followed by a word or comment to predict an obvious response or action that someone else will almost certainly say or do. In other words, when someone types INB4, they are receiving that comment “before” someone else.

It is comparable to the “First” trend seen across various social platforms. Users who casually view your social feeds as soon as a very popular account follows new content posts are presented with the opportunity to be the first commenter and will often post the word “First” just to show off before everyone else’s comments start to flood the site.

INB4 works in the same way as “First”, but INB4 is always followed by a comment (while “First” is the only word that users will type in order to post their comment as soon as possible). Take a look at some of the following examples to see how INB4 actually works.

INB4: Examples

• Let’s say a message board user posts a new discussion topic that is against community rules and guidelines. Maybe it’s swearing or a link to an inappropriate website. 

Before the forum moderators see the topic and delete it, a viewing user can post a reply to the topic saying something like: “INB4 mods delete this one”. 

In this scenario, the user who responds with their INB4 comment is anticipating an action. 

• User1 is breaking the rules of the site, harassing others, etc, and User2 says: “inb4 User1 gets banned”

This means that User2 got “in”to the thread “before” User1 can get banned, which User2 predicts will definitely happen

They can even reply simply with INB4 b &, which is a term that many forum members use as an abbreviation for “in before ban”, implying that the user who posted the topic will likely be banned.

• Let’s say a message board user starts a new topic about how he got home and discovers that his pet cat has dropped a lot of food from the shelves. Explain the remains you found before asking if it had ever happened to anyone else. 

After a couple of users post their responses to the topic, one user decides to post the following: “INB4 cat meme”.

In this case, the user expected that someone is going to use a cat meme to make fun of the scenario.

• OP: “What’s everyone’s favourite car?

User #1: “inb4 Lamborghini fanboys”

User #2: “Lamborghini is the best car!!”

User #3: “Lamboooo”

INB4: Don’t go around using it everywhere

As we discussed earlier, INB4 is mainly used on geek centric forums and message board such as 4chan, Reddit, YouTube, and boards focused on geeky topics such as games, computers, and information technology.

Chances are, if you try to use INB4 on a bulletin board with a community of health enthusiasts, future girlfriends, foodies, or scrapbooks, they will have no idea what you mean. This is an online abbreviation that has a special place on the web, and geek-centric message boards are just about the place you should restrict your usage of INB4. Don’t try using it with your girlfriend and say “INB4 your parents are back home” (or maybe you should, might work if she is also a geek).