[OT] Origin of the term "Splat" book

[Crothian]

Though it does seem lately, like within the past year, that splatbook has become more of a derogatory term.

 

[arwink]

I always liked the theory that it's the sound the books make when they're tossed onto a table, as opposed to the hardcover's thump.

Not sure where I picked that up from, but I'm sure it was a discussion like this somewhere.

 

[Umbran]

Though it does seem lately, like within the past year, that splatbook has become more of a derogatory term.

Yes, well as onomatopoeia, that's the natural turn. "Splat!" is a wet, squishy sound. It makes one think of mud, and slimy things. Not exactly what you'd associate with the cream of the crop, hm? After all, people apparently like "crunchy" books, not "squishy" ones

 

[bondetamp]

Though it does seem lately, like within the past year, that splatbook has become more of a derogatory term.

I don't know. I believe the term fat-splat has been coined within the past few years to describe WW books like the Carmarilla book, the Sabbat guide, the Exalted Dragonblooded guide, etc. Big hard-cover books that are, basically, the splat books bigger brethren. These books are, as far as I know, generally very well regarded, and I see far more "when does the next fat-splat arive *drool*" than I see "when does the next fat-splat arive *shudder*". Of course, I'm a generally optimistic guy, and my perception might be coloured.

 

[wighair]

Also, from dictionary.com...

splat

1. Name used in many places (DEC, IBM, and others) for the
asterisk ("*") character (ASCII 0101010). This may derive
from the "squashed-bug" appearance of the asterisk on many
early line printers.

 

[dead_radish]

*blinks*

Ethan Skemp is on here, eh? Learn new things every day. And he's written/developed a lot of S&S stuff, I now see. Nifty.

Ethan: So, when can I expect to see Nuwisha in d20, eh? You know you have to do a good work up of shifters for d20. Templates just don't cut it for me.

 

[Arnwyn]

Well, apparently I'm a certified non-geek.

I always presumed that splatbook was a derogatory term referencing poorly designed books that more often than not increase the power levels of a game (thus resulting in a lot of "splat").

The DOS "*" never even occured to me.

 

[Number47]

IIRC, using "splat" to refer to an asterisk is common typesetting jargon.

I am a typesetter for 14 years. Splat is typesetter jargon, but it is old jargon and not used commonly any more, along with calling an exclamation point a "bang". Although I have no proof, I suspect that it comes from the movable metal type days, when you would want to shorten these words down if you were talking about them. ("Hey, I'm all out of splats, can you bring me a 12-point?")

 

[dead_radish]

Minor Hijack:

Ayup - lots of old programming lingo (for symbols, at least) comes from typesetting.

Many programmers I know still call them bangs, hashes, etc.

hash bang slash
bin slash bash.

aka
#!/bin/bash

is programmer poetry.

 

[frankthedm]

I always presumed that splatbook was a derogatory term referencing poorly designed books that more often than not increase the power levels of a game (thus resulting in a lot of "splat").

I like yours better!