Market Discussions

I like new words entering the language.. both to keep us on our toes, but most particularly when there aren't other adequately nuanced words that handle both definition and carry with them in their sound and ties to other words a greater sense of what it is people are trying to convey.

Avatar, is far too formal and it also carries with it more of a statement that it is a symbol for yourself in another world rather than a newly created fictional entity with which one may or may not identify with one's self and it also suggests something more singular, whether or not the word formally means such.

Character is not a bad term, but it does suffer from some formalness itself and it's hard to utter the word in a flippant way. It also lacks an easy to say diminutive form and we use the diminutive in many ways that generally carry with them a bit of affection and even without affection, the diminutive can knock the stuffing out of something a bit .

"Char" just doesn't come off the lips well... and doesn't fit a standard diminutive model either. In English we most often put a "y" at the end, As in Thomas -> Tom -> Tommy . ... "ola" or "ette" , or "alicious" are a couple others. Without delving into the “why’s” worlds like “money” tend to gather collections of other ways of expressing it beyond a perfectly clear original word . Moola, bread(out of use), coin, cash, bucks, quid…. Etc . ********* has got to be weed or smoke or bud or the other common words which are eluding me at my quick dash through this.

Toon, is more appropriate to the other game where its use is prevalent for the avatar/characters in that game are very nearly depicted as is common in cartoon books. Toon, being a shortened version is an effective means of the diminutive to make something more informal and connected.

Cartoons of course are also something playful in themselves and carry with them a sense of "***** and giggles" along with belonging to an imaginary context of no lasting value. Characters can be in a comedy too, but very often we think if the word being used in a formal critique and very often in literature dealing with serious human behavior.

Toon isn't perfect for EVE but we need a flippant easy to say term that reinforces our at least feigned indifference to its RL value, a reinforcement that it belongs to a recreational realm in which we act far differently than we would in the real world, and yet also carry with it a bit of affection as to a puppy or something.. even a bad puppy.

My CharChar or my racter or my charola or my Charry just aren't comfortable. Toon isn't perfect, but it works better than the next alternative in getting at the general way many of us want to reffer to the many characters we have in the game.

It seems like only some visceral desire for people to distance themselves from that other mmo occupying a different genre, with a PVE dominance, and vastly different average demographic of player have a distaste for the word Toon. I respect there desire to distance themselves from being associated with the other game if they feel strongly about it but, the word "Toon" really doesn't need to be that firmly associated with the other game and I think is generic enough to be used across all MMO's