I use the one that reflects how I actually feel when I write whatever I am writing. When I use IMHO, I mean that I count my opinion as one among many I can respect, one still exploring what I really think, one where I seek to learn. When I use IMNSHO, I mean that I am speaking from such a large body of personal experience that I am willing to stand firmly behind that opinion as an expert. Not as THE expert, of course-- it's all relative, and I am still eager to learn when my HO is NSH. But when I use IMNSHO, I am on what I see as very solid ground, and I am confident I can back up what I am saying with practical applications based on well-founded hypotheses.

When my husband was new to the Net, he asked me one day why I was writing [I'm a Ho]. I joked back that sometimes I write [I'm Not Such a Ho]. So I think of those when I use these terms also, and I grin.

~S~