# Origin of the Abbreviation "3OP"?



## Lucas Garron (Jan 2, 2010)

Since a while, I've been wondering where the abbreviation "3OP" came from.
In particular, I'm wondering if I came up with it first.

For a while, it was simply "the blindfolded method." If you were ever specific, it was "the 3-cycle method." (Freestyle 3-cycling didn't really pick up until 2007.)

I remember at some point that there were starting to be a lot of BLD methods, and there was no short name for the method I use. After a while - probably after consulting Macky's page - I decided to take the the important components of the method to form 3-Cycle Orient and Permute - "3OP". I started using it a lot, it gained regular use among the people I know, and now it's a standard term. It's even on Macky's page now (I told him about the abbreviation some time ago).

Although that's what I remember, I have nothing to prove that this is correct, or that I was the first to think of and promote the use of "3OP". The oldest I can find in my logs is _December 21, 2007_, where I already use it as if it were in common use:



> (8:16:28 AM) lgarron: What's your BLD PB?
> (8:16:28 AM) keemu left the room (quit: Ping timeout).
> (8:16:35 AM) Swordsman_Kirby: My best is like, 1:06, but that was insane.
> (8:16:44 AM) lgarron: 3-cycle?
> (8:16:50 AM) lgarron: 3OP?



The Yahoo group doesn't return anything old, and speedsolving.com, and twistypuzzles.com don't allow "3OP" as a search term, so I can't really search for any earlier uses.

So: Does anyone remember any of the old days, or can dig up any good information about the origin of "3OP" _before 2008_?


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## Swordsman Kirby (Jan 2, 2010)

Lucas Garron said:


> (8:16:28 AM) lgarron: What's your BLD PB?
> (8:16:28 AM) keemu left the room (quit: Ping timeout).
> (8:16:35 AM) Swordsman_Kirby: My best is like, 1:06, but that was insane.
> (8:16:44 AM) lgarron: 3-cycle?
> (8:16:50 AM) lgarron: 3OP?



Semi-offtopic: 1:06 is insane! And *keemu*?!


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## qqwref (Jan 2, 2010)

Was I the first person to use CFOP to mean the 3-cycle method?


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## StachuK1992 (Jan 2, 2010)

Lucas Garron said:


> speedsolving.com [doesn't] allow "3OP" as a search term, so I can't really search for any earlier uses.
> 
> So: Does anyone remember any of the old days, or can dig up any good information about the origin of "3OP" _before 2008_?



"site:speedsolving.com 3op" into google

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site:speedsolving.com+3op&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

That may help.


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## cubeninjaIV (Jan 2, 2010)

3OP


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## Lucas Garron (Jan 2, 2010)

Stachuk1992 said:


> "site:speedsolving.com 3op" into google
> 
> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site:speedsolving.com+3op&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
> 
> That may help.


Oh, nice, you can do date ranges there. Under a normal "advanced" Google search you can't.

Oldest find: Feb 18, 2008


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## StratoPulse (Jan 2, 2010)

*sarcasm* it's obviously 3 old pochmanns *sarcasm*


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## edd5190 (Jan 2, 2010)

Well, coming up with the term yourself _should_ count for something. Just like Leibniz invented calculus. It's not an unnatural abbreviation either, right?

Completely off-topic:


Swordsman Kirby said:


> Lucas Garron said:
> 
> 
> > (8:16:28 AM) lgarron: What's your BLD PB?
> ...



Yes, 1:06 IS insane. Also, keem*y* used to typo a lot, so he just left it that way.


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## Swordsman Kirby (Jan 5, 2010)

I remember what the 1:06 was: Tim Reynolds posted a scramble on the Yahoo forum where the L's and R's were all double-turns (i.e. EO skip).


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