Just to throw more spanners in the works Cecil should have titled his post "Abbreviations, Acronyms and Initialisms"; there was only one abbreviation in his original list, the rest were acronyms and initialisms , but I digress...
I wouldn't call the use of abbreviations, acronyms or initialisms modern by any means, many have been around for a very very long time (like anything to do with measurement for instance). I also wouldn't say that the use of has become so common that it indicates a lack of knowledge of an item in question, in fact I would say the reverse is true, knowledge (however intimate) of an item in question is more likely to induce using an abbreviation, acronym or initialism than a lack of knowledge.
As to "moving too fast to take the time" I don't think so, certainly not here anyway. I don't think I've ever seen an abbreviation, acronym or initialism here that only a few out of the many would know without having to look it up or ask. For other aspects that I've had to deal with as part of this hobby then yes I agree; probably the biggest thing that (insert nice word for profane word that starts with s here) me is the laziness of people with expensive educations to not put math symbols in equations.
- Tim