When did "PHB" become "PH"?

[Morrus]

I grew up saying "PHB". I still do. Mike Mearls says "PH". Anybody know when that changed, and who decided that?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I blame Mearls.

 

[Agamon]

Odd that it was called PHB since the AD&D days, seeing as it's not the Player's Hand Book. The DMG makes sense, because its not the Dungeonmaster's Guide.

But what I really wanted to post was:

Great, we lost a letter. Thanks Mearls.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I saw back in 2e a guy with a binder (big binder like 4+inch) of house rules and he labled parts as PH for players handbook... but I think even he called it a phb out loud...

 

[Riley]

In the 1e days, I had a MM, a PH, and a DMG... As far as I know, it has been called the PH for as long as there has been a PH. As noted above, it's not a Hand Book.

 

[tuxgeo]

I blame Mearls.

He's in charge! He doesn't have to meet standards, because it's his business to set standards!

 

[Hand of Evil]

Well, it should be Phdbk as hdbk is the abbreviation for handbook but bet it is due to the abbreviations for PHB and confusion with them, pointy-haired-boss (yep, Dilbert)

 

[pedr]

It was officially PH in 3e, I think. I remember that abbreviation in the Living Greyhawk rules.

 

[Ichneumon]

Long-standing acronyms often leak letters at the end, especially if they've taken on an extraneous look.

For example, MMORPG -> MMO. There's a slight sacrifice of precision ("a Massively Multiplayer Online what?") in return for an acronym that's more morsel than mouthful, and fits easier into Twitter.

I mainly use PH these days. Since it's rarely used in the context of chemical reactions, this usage is quite safe.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Great, we lost a letter. Thanks Mearls.

Don't worry; I'm putting it back.

The three books are the PHB, the MM, and the DMG. Fixed it.