[MUD-Dev] First use of "avatar"?

[Steve {Bloo} Daniels]

Koster, Raph wrote:

> The OED is doing a pilot project to incorporate a large number of
> words derived from SF. You can read about it here:

Damn!  I was just getting ready to order the full set (not kidding).
Now I'll have to wait.
 
>   http://66.108.177.107/SF/sf_citations.shtml
 
> One in particular that caught my eye was this entry:
 
>   avatar (n.) antedating 1992 (in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash)
>   sense is a VR representation of a person
 
> I want to say that avatar was used before Snow Crash. Am I wrong?

Would use in a game not meet their criteria, e.g., Ultima?  I'll
have to do some research because I have a faint recollection of a
comic book series titled 'Avatar'.  Also, it might be used in John
Quick's cyberspace novels (I'll have to dig through some boxes to
find these OOP gems).
 
> While we're at it:
 
>   - "toon" is another one that I have heard still in common usage,
>   though not as commonly. Does this antedate The Realm?

Steve Jackson Games "Toon", not sure when first used.

-bloo 


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