Breakfast Topic: I don't like the word 'toon'
by Mathew McCurley 
Mar 30th 2012 at 8:00AM
Maybe it's the various permutations of the way people say toon. It's very easy to turn the double-ohs into an elongated, strained toooooooooooooon that stings your ligaments. I don't hate people who use the word, of course. There would be too much hate in the world. My Sha would consume Pandaria, Azeroth, and escape into the Titan's living room, sit down, and watch the game with Sargeras. You are not the problem; my weird aversion to the word is.
Obviously I don't hate the word that much -- it's just not my preferred term. So what is it with the word toon? Change my opinion, give me a comment spanking, or rally behind my unknowable and toon-phobic sentiments. Please, sound off on the word toon.
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
spectres Mar 30th 2012 8:04AM
Mathew, you need to tune down your hate.
Jorges Mar 30th 2012 9:26AM
Here Mathew, you can blame this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toon_%28role-playing_game%29
Xantenise Mar 30th 2012 12:18PM
I didn't get this at first, because in Australia "tune" and "toon" are pronounced differently. ("Choon" or "tyoon".)
Swifteye Mar 30th 2012 8:05AM
I don't particularly like it either. For the first year or so of my WoW-ing, I always referred to them as my "char/s" (shortening of "character" that was used in most of the other games I had played).
I pretty much just gave up and started holding my nose and saying "toon" like everyone else after multiple instances of "wtf is a char?" or "char char charmander? lol"... *sigh*
SR Mar 30th 2012 8:36AM
Chair.
Noyou Mar 30th 2012 8:56AM
In the same boat as you. Toon is just shorter and more people seem to understand it. Kind of like kk. Used to say OK. Never really understood how kk = OK but it seems faster to type when you are grouping with someone. I use it sometimes when I text now- but only with the two people I know who play WoW. Silly, right?
Imnick Mar 30th 2012 10:41AM
Is it really so much noticeably faster to type k twice than a letter twice instead of a letter that is one key to the right and one key above it?
Really?
LynMars Mar 30th 2012 11:15AM
Yeah, I prefer "character" when referring to the folks I play. But if I'm talking about the models only, I do use the term "toon." Characters are the people I RP, toons are the pixellated object in the world representing those characters.
And in some cases, especially with non-RPers who don't get the shortening of "Character" to "char," it does work better to use the term "toon."
vay Mar 30th 2012 11:28AM
I don't think 'kk' is short for 'ok' - it's short for 'okay, cool' (or 'kool' if you can stand it...). Ok just means, 'I hear what you're saying'. 'kk' means 'I hear what you're saying - and I like it!' I use both ok and kk, depending on how happy I am about what I'm hearing. :-)
Didax Mar 30th 2012 11:52AM
From a typing standpoint, it's much faster to type "ok," assuming you're using more than one finger to type it.
I was told, once upon a time, that "kk" was short for "Okay, cool."
There's probably a whole long spiel we could get into regarding linguistics but the use of "kk," from my understanding is like a more congenial version of "ok."
I.E. "ok" seems cold and impersonal, whereas "kk" seems warm and friendly.
Junklove Mar 30th 2012 12:17PM
Totally Agree!!! I remember back from D2 and having the hard transition to WOW. Char doesn't seem as childish as "toon".
Drahken Mar 30th 2012 12:18PM
I'm almost exactly the same as you. In games I played in the past, it was always "characters" and then shortened to "chars". (pronounced cares) Then when I started playing WoW, everyone is throwing the word "toon" around and I didn't understand why. I thought it was really stupid, so I resisted at first. Eventually I gave in and started using the term, but I actually still don't understand the term, and it's been years.
Revanel Mar 30th 2012 2:08PM
I thought I was the only person who hated that term! I don't use it either. I say "chars" or "guys".
corey.waters Mar 30th 2012 8:09PM
Lawls @ "Chair"
Jamie Mar 30th 2012 8:06AM
Arrggh now you've got me started "dr00d". I want to slap that Worgen or Night Elf so hard when they refer to themselves as a "dr00d".
Eff you man with your inability to use the proper two letters in your class name. Eff YOU HARD!!!
RANT OVER!!!
Jamie Mar 30th 2012 8:07AM
I should clarify in my rage I missed a word. The first sentence should be "Arrrgh now you've got my started on "dr00d".
Wow, that doused my fire.
Lissanna Mar 30th 2012 8:12AM
The proper spelling for that is... Durid! :)
http://www.wowpedia.org/Alamo
Knob Mar 30th 2012 8:16AM
SUM DURID R BARE!
CAT DURID IS 4 FITE!
TREE IS NOT 4 CLIMB LOL!
Lumi Mar 30th 2012 8:56AM
On Runetotem-EU, where most of the populateion is Italian, they often refer to druids as 'dudu'.
I wish I was joking.
Nadia Mar 30th 2012 9:16AM
When referring to a group of Druids, I sometimes say "my Droodies" because it reminds me of Droogies from A Clockwork Orange. Sometimes people ask me where my zeros are.
Of course, when I explain it most don't get that reference, but whatever. It amuses me.