Terminology. Why does it bug me and others?

[Tolmos]

People who never played WoW or hate WoW are more stuck on that game than anyone else. Terms like DPS, Toon, and Pally have been used in several games BEFORE WoW, including Everquest and Ultima Online. But all these people want to see is World of Warcraft.

Every time I see a thread like this or heal someone say something like this, I can't help but wonder if they think WoW was the first MMO...

Because toon doesn't sound like anything game-like and I don't see why people can't just call it "char"/"chara" or "character" as they have been from the beginning.

There was no reason at all to invent a new term when "char" is just as short.

Toon is from before even EQ. I first saw it in Ultima online back in '97. The thought process was basically character -> cartoon character -> cartoon -> toon. There was a certain disconnect to characters back then, due to both graphics and gameplay styles, so players were neither as attached to nor as immersed in their characters in games like that as they are now.

After 15 years, I still use the term to to this day.